Don’t get used to picking up this Daily. It’s about to change – but we’ll get to that later.

My name is Chris Conetzkey, I’ll be a senior this year, and I have the honor of serving you as the Editor-in-Chief of the Iowa State Daily. That’s why I do it, that’s why the over 100 students on our staff do it — we want to serve the students, faculty, and employees of Iowa State by providing a product that can inform, entertain and lead discussions about all of our campus’ issues.

This year our organization has undergone some exciting new changes. You’ll start to notice a few in the paper this week, but it’s our brand-new tool at iowastatedaily.net that is going to allow us to do an even better job than last year.

The Daily worked hard for the past six months redesigning our Web site, and switching our provider from College Publisher to TownNews. Besides looking sharp, the new site is more intuitive, and more importantly, it gives us the functionality to keep you updated with news as it happens.

We aren’t just a paper anymore. In the past we used to take the same content from our paper and put it on the site. That is all changing. You can still find all the stories from our print edition online, but make sure to check back with us during the day for all the latest stories. If an accident happens, check our site. If an event is happening on campus, check our site. If it’s the weekend, check our site. News happens at any hour of the day, and we will be there to inform you when it does.

This means it’s a great time to be an ISU sports fan. You used to have to wait until Monday morning to get a full story, but not anymore. Check our site immediately following any ISU athletic event to find out who won, and then again, later, for a full story.

We also went out and hired a staff of broadcast journalists to help us provide you with video on our site. Check us out: we have four new videos up today. We plan on growing our video presence, and can now tell stories in the best way possible, whether that be video, photos or text.

As the semester goes along, our site, a living organism in our minds and no longer a site that remains stagnant for 24-hour cycles, will grow. When changes happen, we’ll be there to let you know. Our calendar, which anyone can post an even to is already filling up, our new blogs will begin shortly, and as always, the discussion on stories is about to start raging.

So stay tuned, because the changes aren’t just limited to online. On Sep. 2, you’ll pick up a Daily and visually see the difference. I’ll be back then to fully explain the changes. Until then, good luck this year and remember, you are a part of the community too. If you see something that should be reported, want something covered, see a mistake, or have a suggestion, let us hear about it. The more we know, the better job we can do serving the public, so feel free to call my desk at 515-294-5688 or email me at [email protected].

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to a year in your service.