This week has been momentous, to say the least: The Northern Star switched from printing four days a week to printing Mondays and Thursdays, started publishing online every day and worked on improving its visual appeal and engagement with readers.

The results — so far — have been fantastic: Online readership is up like never before on a daily basis. More people are subscribing to the Star’s newsletters and following the staff on social media. That’s good for us since it means we’re reaching more readers, but it’s also great for readers since they have more ways to access NIU and DeKalb news and entertainment.

To do: News

Of course, the staff will continue to improve its digital offerings. First on the to-do list? More news.

This week we’ve had fun with quizzes, photo galleries and more, and we’ve seen that readers are enjoying having more lighthearted offerings. We’ll continue publishing those things online — I’m particularly fond of the quizzes — but I also want the staff to work with writers to produce more serious NIU and DeKalb news for the Star’s website.

The key to that is always in hiring and training. The Northern Star is hiring writers for all its sections, and we will actively train these journalists so they can help the Star maintain its tradition of excellence while gaining experience for a post-graduation job.

Another key aspect, though, is reaching out to readers. We want to tell your stories. Have a news tip? I’m always available to talk; just send an email to [email protected], tweet @BauerJournalism or call my office phone at 815-753-0105.

We expect the early successes of this semester to continue since the staff will improve upon and expand its digital offerings, post more frequently online and reach out to readers in new, exciting ways. The staff has already worked extremely hard to keep up on breaking news and get interesting, relevant content posted to NorthernStar.info so our readers may stay informed, and I know they’ll keep learning.

From this point on, I’ll take my updates on the Star’s changes — successes, missteps and all — to our website, NorthernStar.info. There, I’ll work to update readers on what the Star staff is planning to implement. I encourage you to seek updates there and continue giving us feedback on this digital revolution.