Publishing

Needing an upgrade from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7, Alaska Dispatch took an opportunity to relaunch alaskadispatch.com in January 2013 with a new responsive web design. Alaska’s online-only news site features solutions for incorporating advertising into a responsive theme—a primary challenge faced by the publishing industry as it adapts to the variety of devices and screen sizes available to readers.

The owners of Alaska Dispatch believe they are paving the way nationally for what will be the future of online journalism—locally produced stories presented on for-profit websites. From political corruption to climate change to rural Alaska to the rise of Sarah Palin, Alaska media has struggled to cover stories of importance not only to Alaskans but to the rest of the nation. Alaska Dispatch was founded by Tony Hopfinger in 2008. In mid-2009, Alice Rogoff, a longtime supporter of journalism and a former chief financial officer of U.S. News and World Report, became the majority owner of Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, and the site expanded to employ writers, editors and a full-time sales team.

Combing the design and development updates and the implementation of responsive theming, Alaska Dispatch has seen an increase in visitor traffic, social media engagement, and a 30% increase in ad impressions.