AHOSKIE – Still the same reliable news, just in a brand new package.

As of midnight tonight (Saturday), the all new www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com will officially launch, bringing with it a change in how news and advertising is provided throughout the Roanoke-Chowan region.

“We are excited about the new web site and the possibilities it brings for our region,” News-Herald Publisher David Sullens said. “We will be offering our readers and advertisers an entirely new site that will be fast, efficient and informative.”

The new site will provide readers with up-to-date news, sports and information as well as direct links to the sites of advertisers, allowing readers to access the entire region from one site.

“The biggest thing about our new site is it will change the way we do business,” www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com Editor Cal Bryant said. “No more will we be waiting for our print product (the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald) to be printed before we update the web site. Our site will be updated constantly with the latest news and sports information.”

In the past, the web site for the newspaper was updated only after the News-Herald went to press and contained just a small portion of what was actually printed in the newspaper.

Now there will be updated news, sports, opinion and features every day on the new site.

As breaking news happens, it will be available on the Web site, allowing readers to have the most current information available in the Roanoke-Chowan region.

The site will also have videos of events happening in the region. That site, known as yourvideos, will allow visitors to view council meetings, news events and sports events as well as reading about them in story form.

Multimedia Manager Patrick Bryant, who serves as webmaster for www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com, said the site will also provide those who visit the opportunity to be more involved.

“There are numerous ways our readers can use the site interactively,” Bryant said. “Readers will have the opportunity to comment on stories and opinion as well as to sign up to receive breaking news alerts.”

Bryant also announced the launch of yourshots, which will be a place for viewers to submit their own photos of events in the Roanoke-Chowan region.

“We want to allow the people of our region to share the events in their lives through pictures,” Bryant said. “We think it is a unique opportunity for the people of Bertie, Hertford, Northampton and Gates counties to share events in their lives through photographs.”

The new Web site will allow people to access the news and information they want more readily. In addition to having a news link, there will be links to each major area in the region to take viewers directly to the town they reside in.

On the sports page, there will be links to each of the 10 schools in the region, allowing their fans to access all recent stories about that school.

The site will also be better for those who are seeking more information about the News-Herald’s advertisers. The advertisements will be easier to find, more clean and will be “clickable.”

“We’re extremely pleased to be able to offer our advertisers a much-improved site,” said Advertising Representative Teresa Martin. “We believe the new site will be better for our advertisers and their shoppers.”

Anyone wishing to advertise on the new site can contact Martin, Tammy Perry or Judy Farmer at 332-2123.

The new site was shown to a select group of people in the four-county area in August and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“I was very impressed, it was user friendly and informative,” said Bertie County Register of Deeds Belinda White, who was part of that group. “Honestly, it’s a big improvement over the old site and I can’t wait to use it.”

The shortcut for the site (www.r-cnews.com) will continue to work for those who wish to use it.

Readers of the print edition may also notice changes in today’s edition with a new flag, new editorial page and slight changes to the inside of the newspaper.