The Sacramento Bee is actively pushing its online operations forward, preparing for a digital future. Editor & Publisher prints highlights from the paper's public editor, Armando Acuna, who explains to the public the steps that the paper are taking, including how it will distinguish between online and print news.

The Bee recently began a "continuous news desk" in its newsroom in order to update its website 24 hours a day. The changes in content were immediately noticeable.

Acuna: "Once a straightforward, seldom changing, boring regurgitation of what was published in the morning's paper, (the website) is now publishing short, breaking stories throughout the day. Some live only a few hours online; others make it into the next day's paper. It's a fledgling start, and the news is fast and short, but the key is that it has begun. For a paper traditionally as stodgy and risk-averse as The Bee, that's a huge step."

The Bee also plans to unveil a redesigned website to accompany its new newsroom approach that will undergo a testing period by the public.

Ralph Frattura, director of interactive products at the Bee, suggested that the change will be difficult for the paper's journalists, saying "For all the opportunity provided by new technology, the overall success of the paper's efforts will rest on a cultural change inside the newsroom. Reporters and editors long tied to the rhythms of print publication will need to adjust and contribute to this additional way of disseminating news and information."

Source: Editor & Publisher