MEDIA RELEASE: Tiso Blackstar launches Times Select: a daily, curated, 20-minute digital read
No clutter, no noise, just the news you need to read
Johannesburg, 1 February 2018: Tiso Blackstar Group has announced the launch of Times Select, South Africa’s first digital daily news edition, which has replaced the former print edition of The Times. Times Select features national, business, lifestyle, sport and world news, curated by an expert editorial team, to provide readers with a sharply edited, 20-minute daily must-read.
Times Select – No clutter, no noise, just the news you need to read
“We will continue to bring the feisty spirit and unique voice of The Times to the new Times Select platform, where our readers will benefit from the award-winning journalism synonymous with Tiso Blackstar’s titles,” says Andrew Trench, Group Digital Editor at Tiso Blackstar Group.
Content from top columnists and writers from the former print edition will be available exclusively for Times Select readers: Justice Malala, Ranjeni Munusamy, Tom Eaton, Jonathan Jansen, Darrel Bristow-Bovey, Tony Leon, Wendy Knowler, Andile Ndlovu and more.
Until April this year, readers will be able to access Times Select at no cost on desktop and mobile devices simply by registering at select.timeslive.co.za. Thereafter it will become a subscription only product, with daily and monthly rates to be announced soon.
Readers already registered on the TimesLIVE, BusinessLIVE, SowetanLIVE or Sunday Times websites will be able to sign in with their existing details.
All Sunday Times subscribers who previously received the print edition of The Times on weekdays will have full access to Times Select from 1 February, and won’t have to pay once the pricing is announced. This is exclusive to existing Sunday Times print subscribers.
In explaining the difference between the TimesLIVE website and Times Select, Trench says: “Unlike news sites that produce a constant stream of breaking news, Times Select will cut through the noise for readers who are overloaded with information or too busy to spend their lives glued to a screen. TimesLIVE will continue publishing a wide range of free news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while Times Select will be an unmissable once-a-day snapshot of essential news.”
“The team editing Times Select are trying new ways of curating content in a digital edition, separating out some of the big stories driving the news agenda with a bias towards explanatory journalism, as well as finding an alternating pace between news nuggets and longer reads. The idea is to provide eclectic, surprising and off-agenda coverage alongside powerful journalism and commentary of consequence in a clean, visually strong package,” says Trench
A new edition of Times Select will be online daily from Monday to Friday at 5am. Readers will also be able to sign up for a morning newsletter delivered via email.
Mobile screen shots of today’s edition of Times Select
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Issued by: Samantha Pugh, Pugh Public Relations & Corporate Communications
e: sam@pughpr.co.za c: 071 874 5460
On behalf of: Andrew Trench, Group Digital Editor, Tiso Blackstar Group