MediaNews Implements EidosMedia Methode Portal Server

By: E&P Staff Denver-based MediaNews Group has selected the Methode Portal Server from EidosMedia, Milan and New York, as the integrated platform for its 70-plus news sites.

"We wanted to bring all of these sites onto a common platform, while letting each property maintain its local focus and identity," MediaNews Group Interactive President Oliver Knowlton said in a statement.

With a common core to provide a centrally managed platform, the project will take a modular approach, enabling fast roll-out to all sites of new functionalities that are developed at the corporate level -- even as local modules provide content management and a look and feel that confer individual sites with strong identities, according to EidosMedia.

"Each individual site will use a standard architecture that can be tailored to add any local needs and functions," said Steve Ball, EidosMedia U.S. technical sales director.

The project will rely on Methode Portal Server's range of reader-interaction features, such as forums, comments, polls, and user-generated content channels. Personalization functions will permit readers to tailor their views of the portals, while content geo-tagging will enable mapping of local news items.

By moving to Methode Portal Server, MNG can continue delivering local news "while benefiting from the synergies of a national network," said Jo Ann Froelich, Country Manager for EidosMedia Inc.