Welcome to a new version of the YFile newsletter.
We have redesigned our newsletter into a format that makes it easier for you to access the information you need. The newsletter blends content developed by YFile staff with information curated from the web. We are adjusting our focus to bring you more news about the many great initiatives and accomplishments at York University.
In 2002, when YFile first launched, the mandate was to bring you news about York University. With this new format, we keep to this mandate but have abandoned the long list of stories in favour of a more organized, focused presentation that better presents the University’s news.
Within the daily email you will see a new section called “The Scoop” that offers insight into the many accomplishments of York University’s faculty and students. We have expanded the events category and streamlined the York in the Media section opting to highlight who was quoted or profiled. This leaves you to choose what media story you wish to read. As well, we are linking to the great feature stories offered by York U magazine. There will be rotating links to YU Connect for students and to the YU Link Intranet for University employees. We hope to expand our focus to shine a light on the other publications and blogs produced on campus. We have even added “advertising” space at the bottom of the email to promote important initiatives underway at the University, such as the migration of York undergraduate students to Google Apps, Red and White Spirit days, theatre performances, sporting events and more.
We have changed our frequency, opting to publish Tuesday to Friday each week. This provides the two journalists who put YFile together with some time to tackle more reporting on teaching and learning, research and the terrific accomplishments of York University’s community.
Over the next year, we hope to undertake a redesign of the YFile homepage to bring you a more responsive format and there may even be a news app in our future.
YFile is always a work in progress. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) continues to award YFile with Accolades for excellence in online news. We are proud of the recognition that CASE has given to YFile and for what we have accomplished as Canada’s first daily online newsletter developed for a university.
An important point is that YFile is your newsletter and we welcome your thoughts and ideas for stories. If you have a story you would like to suggest to YFile, we encourage you to send it to Jenny Pitt-Clark at jpitt@yorku.ca or Sandra McLean at sandramc@yorku.ca.
You can learn more about how we work by visiting the About YFile section on the newsletter’s homepage.
Our thanks go to you, our intrepid reader, for sticking with us, to Rod Potter in University Information Technology for bringing our vision to reality, and the entire team in Communications & Public Affairs for their enduring support.
With thanks, and we hope you enjoy the change.
Jenny Pitt-Clark
YFile Editor
Sandra McLean
YFile Deputy Editor