EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Extra! Extra! Read our electronic edition

by Peggy Boyer Long

Looks like the magazine's new home page is already a hit. In fact, we logged 63 computer "hits" in the first week of May alone. One cyber reader was inspired enough by our Internet edition to send a subscription check for the hard copy version of Illinois Issues, which he's willing to get by regular mail. Not bad.

So if you haven't logged on yet, I urge you to check us out. March was our first official electronic issue. And each month you can expect to read two or three current feature articles, as well as the Briefly section and our regular political and regional columnists. (See address below.)

The page was designed by our graduate assistant, Brian Lee, who, like a lot of folks in their 20s, seems to have been born with mouse in hand. He says the site will be accessible by all browsers, though it was uniquely designed for Netscape 2.0. We are located on several searchable sites, including Yahoo, Infoseek and Lycos.

We have other plans for the page as well. We're considering an electronic archive for the magazine that will include summaries of all articles published in Illinois Issues during our 21-year history. Researchers will be able to conduct their searches by topic.

By popular request, we're also exploring creation of a clickable Roster map. Each spring the magazine publishes a Roster of State Government Officials. But a home page Roster would be more up to date. It could include legislative, congressional and judicial districts. At the click of a mouse, the electronic reader could call up the names, addresses and phone numbers of elected officials in any area of the state. Readers could link to the home page of any official and, through the browser, send e-mail messages to lawmakers or members of Congress.

Other possibilities include access to information on campaign spending by public officials. And, of course, information on how to subscribe to the magazine.

However it evolves, we believe our home page is already user friendly, graphically appealing and informative.

And that's thanks not only to Brian, but to the persistence of our publisher, Ed Wojcicki, who began pushing the magazine into the computer age three years ago.

Unlike those who worry cyberspace will hurt journalism, Illinois Issues sees technological change as another opportunity to reach out to a new audience.

Illinois Issues The State's Leading Public Affairs Magazine
Illinois Issues Campaign Finance Map/Roster Subscription Information Mission Statement Issue Archive

The Illinois Issues home page address is: http://www.uis.edu/~blee/ii.html

4 ¦ June 1996 Illinois Issues