To begin with, for the past four-and-a-half years we have used electronic communication to send articles, memos and other materials back and forth between our two offices in Winnipeg, Man. and Abbotsford, B.C.
In the last year or two, we have also begun using the internet to communicate on a wider scale. We receive change of address notices, letters to the editor and even submitted articles by e-mail. We sometimes write letters to writers and potential writers by e-mail as well.
We receive news releases from Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services and some other agencies by e-mail. (It's faster, and we don't have to typeset the articles once they arrive.) We have even received a few photos through e-mail to accompany news releases. In the near future, we will be able to reach professional photo libraries through the internet; we will be able to search the libraries for photos, select the ones we want and copy them into the Herald, immediately and electronically.
As of the February 9 issue, we took the next step by putting most of the Herald onto the internet. This means that people in remote areas, such as a missionaries in Lithuania or church members in B.C., can read most of the Herald the day it is published, instead of waiting for the post office to deliver the paper copy. With the internet, geography is no longer a barrier.
The Herald may not be caught in the net--but it is certainly on line.
Jim Coggins