Independent switches blogs to WordPress in effort to raise standards

The Independent has relaunched its blogs, switching from Livejournal to WordPress as its publishing platform.

The new-look blogs on Independent.co.uk are now much closer in design to the rest of the website and more closely integrated. The blogs from individual Independent journalists, columnists and group blogs will move from the LiveJournal-based Independent Minds site onto the new platform.

While the LiveJournal platform allowed readers to use their own journal profiles to add comments or post their own entries to the Independent's blog channel, the new site will use only in-house or invited bloggers. This will "raise standards" and follows the site's push to improve the standard of comments by introducing the Disqus system and asking for real names from commenters, says Martin King, online editor of the Independent, in a introductory post.

"The blogs are built with a standard WordPress system, incorporating our Disqus comments. We are demonstrating that globally standard programs can free mainstream journalism from the complex bespoke set-ups of the past," says King.

New blogs, The Foreign Desk, Sports, Arts and Notebook have also been added with the relaunch, aggregating blog updates from journalists who previously had standalone blogs on the Independent Minds site. Journalists will also be able to update the blogs via email as part of the new set-up.

"WordPress is infinitely more customisable, which means that we can adapt it all as we go along. By bringing it all in-house it also means our development and editorial teams can work closely on getting the features that readers and bloggers want live as quickly as possible," Jack Riley, digital media editor, told Journalism.co.uk.

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