New EBS newsletter brings back Town Crier, local, regional content
By Michael Somerby EBS DIGITAL EDITOR
One might hear the ancient cry in town centers around Medieval England: “Hear ye, hear ye!” In those days, the ability to read was a luxury, so the spread of important information relied primarily on interpersonal communication. Often, this responsibility fell, professionally speaking, on the shoulders of a celebrated individual: the town crier.
His job, a role that persisted in North America as recently as 1904 in Los Angeles, was to gather a crowd, sometimes with the assistance of a gong or bell, and yell breaking news to onlookers.
Several centuries later, Explore Big Sky is excited to announce the launch of our “EBS: Town Crier” newsletter, the latest rollout in an ongoing effort to enhance digital engagement and stay current with emerging digital trends.
The latter is a partial mischaracterization—newsletters have existed since the advent of the printing press, but are increasing both in number and variety from news provider’s worldwide, a testament to their lasting power.
In 2013, now-Editor-in-Chief Joseph T. O’Connor would take to YouTube weekly, announcing news, events and general tomfoolery as the Big Sky Town Crier, a character he invented for the medium. Coming full circle, the EBS editorial team is looking to enhance the frequency and timeliness of the news you seek.
“We played around with some fun names but kept returning to the Town Crier,” O’Connor said. “Honestly, I miss him. This is a way to bring back timelier content into the EBS fold.”
Launched March 15 and slotted for a three-times-weekly release each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, the “EBS: Town Crier” boasts a myriad of subject matter, sources and content mediums you’ll wake up to and want to check out.
Regular features will include daily weather forecasts, EBS articles, inspiring and educational quotes, staff-selected songs and music videos, compelling images from our social media accounts, staff-created polls and aggregated news briefs from around the region. We aim to provide subscribers with an informative and entertaining platform where you can start your day.
For “EBS: Town Crier” seekers, a subscribe function has been added to the explorebigsky.com homepage, making it easier than ever to bring EBS into a daily news feed.
