To our readers,

First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Web readers who choose MontgomeryNews.com as their source for news. We believe that part of our job as your local newspaper is to provide you with coverage that goes beyond our weekly papers and keeps you informed on community news as well as events on a daily basis.

Web users may have noticed a number of other changes to our Web site. Recently, video, photo slide shows and podcasts have begun to play a major role in how we bring the news to you. We find that video and other forms of multimedia provide you with yet another perspective to the surrounding community.

This past weekend, video stories were posted of both the Ambler Kiwanis Carnival and the Plymouth Township July 4 Parade. In both cases, these stories were posted immediately after the events occurred. For example, the Plymouth Township parade began at 10 a.m. and the video story was shot, edit and posted to the Web before noon of that day.

In another step toward providing daily coverage, we have taken steps in the direction of social media. If you have not already noticed, we are on Twitter (@MontgomeryMedia) and Facebook (Montgomery News). On these platforms we post stories and events that keep you updated on what is happening around your home by the hour.

We will continue to provide you with this kind of up-to-the-hour coverage whenever possible and we encourage our readers to post comments to our stories and even post events to our Community Calendar. Our ultimate goal is for our readers to see our Web site as a connection between the neighborhood and the entire county.

As a lifelong Montgomery County resident, it is incredible to see the amount of events and news that occurs in our neighborhoods. After this Fourth of July weekend, I think I speak for the entire staff when I say, we have never been so proud to be members of your neighborhood.

I say this because we watched the Conshohocken fireworks fall on troubled times. However, we also saw the town pick itself back up for an immense celebration at Sutcliffe Field on Friday, and we were there when the fireworks shot off at the Ambler Kiwanis Carnival. We heard the fire trucks sound off on Jolly Road. We even saw the Montgomery County Concert Band in Limerick as it swept the town with its talented performance.

We write the news but the news is you. I ask you to keep that in mind over the next few weeks as our Web site goes through some changes which will bring us closer to you than ever before. Stay tuned.

Andy Stettler
Video and Web Editor