This week marks the first time in decades the Northern Star won’t put out a daily newspaper.

Instead, the Northern Star will focus on combining its print and digital journalism to provide readers with news that is more timely and in-depth. That means we’ll appear in print Mondays and Thursdays while publishing online 24/7.

In fact, if you head to NorthernStar.info right now you should see a collection of Web-exclusive stories, photo galleries and tweet collections alongside the content that appeared in our print issue. More will be going online throughout the day.

These changes will result in better service for our readers, improved training for the Star’s staff and a more stable financial outlook.

Connecting with readers

One of the most important parts of this transformation is Star staffers engaging with readers.

We want to hear your opinion on news and columns, answer your questions, share your photos, follow up on your story tips and feature your interesting buddies in Student Spotlight and stories.

One of the easiest ways to do all that is by using our social media. The Northern Star already shares news through its Twitter handles — @NIUNorthernStar, @NSScene and @NSSports — but now we’ll be more active and engaging.

You can also like the Northern Star on Facebook at Facebook.com/NIUNorthernStar or check out our recipes, photos and more on Pinterest at Pinterest.com/NIUNorthernStar.

And, of course, the Star’s editors may be reached via email at [email protected].

I encourage readers to reach out to the staff with questions and feedback on this transformation or on individual articles.

Print

The staff’s goal is to use its print issues to provide more in-depth coverage with interesting visuals.

For example, a reporter will still be at City Council tonight even though the Star will not appear in print Tuesday. Instead, information about the meeting will be available online after it is over and an in-depth, well-researched article will be available in the print issue Thursday.

The print issue will also focus on showcasing the staff’s photography so the paper is as appealing to look at as it is informative.

The Northern Star has won numerous awards for its coverage in recent years, and the staff hopes to build upon that tradition of journalistic excellence through these changes.

Digital

Though the Northern Star’s website has frequently been used for breaking news coverage and blog posts, we’ll now focus on expanding what we offer.

News, sports and entertainment updates will be available throughout the day Monday through Friday, with less frequent updates on the weekend. The best way to keep up with these updates is by following the Northern Star through its social media accounts or by bookmarking the website, NorthernStar.info.

The staff is using its website for more than articles: We’re posting interactive maps and timelines, graphics, collections of tweets and reader comments, audio clips, photo galleries, videos and more.

The entire staff is working together to ensure these changes are positive. But, we need reader feedback to improve and fix what doesn’t work. I hope you’ll find they make for a stronger newspaper and website, and I hope you’ll reach out to the staff.