New domain names reshaping the web to serve journalists

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Presented in association with Radix Registry

Whether it's to watch Sky News, listen to BBC Radio, read the Telegraph or browse the thoughts of a freelance journalist, the world now turns to a computer, tablet or phone and goes online.

Digital technologies, mobile ownership and the growth of social networking have had a profound effect on the way we live our lives, and none greater than on the way we consume news.

In this new world, people access more stories than ever before. In addition to traditional titles, readers now regularly visit the independent news blogs or start-up publishers that have proliferated across the web.

In a crowded marketplace, news outlets and publishers face an increasing need to differentiate themselves, but tight controls on domain names meant until recently their ability to build a strong identity online was limited as they were only able to use a country-coded suffix or a .com, .org, or .net domain extension.

"Liberalisation of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has now made it simple to adopt a web name relevant to your area of work", says Parag Barhate from Radix Registry.

Among a raft of newly available web suffixes, the .press extension has – for the first time – made identification of a journalism website quick and easy.

Radix Registry sells .press domains through more than 85 registrars across the world including the likes of GoDaddy, Namecheap, Gandi, Name.com and more.

The changes, Barhate says, mean publishers can improve their online visibility while independent journalists can more easily find an audience, promote a portfolio, and get work.

"Until now individual journalists and news businesses found it incredibly tough to find high-quality domain names and to get their voices heard," says Barhate.

"With the best .com and .co.uk names already taken, journalists haven’t been able to build context and profile round an appropriate domain name.

"A .com address doesn’t immediately make clear that you’re a journalist or a news publication in the way a .press suffix does."

Journalists are now able to buy .press domains for new websites, for a redirect to an existing website, and as a redirect to their social media accounts, Barhate adds.

Journalists can also use .press domains for their portfolios created on any of the leading journalism portfolio services like Clippings.me, Pressfolios.com or Journoportfolio.com.

And leading media organisations like MuckRack, Freedom of the Press and the International Journalists' Network have already started to use the Radix-administered .press domain name to improve their visibility online.

"Giving companies and individuals greater control over their domain names means providing them with the freedom to be creative, to find a name that aligns them with appropriate communities and helps them rank better on Google", says Barhate.

Sunday 3rd May was commemorated as World Press Freedom Day by the UN. On this occasion, to help journalists adopt more robust online identities, and to contribute towards a more conducive atmosphere for a free and independent press, during May 2015 Radix will contribute $3 to the Press Freedom initiatives of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) for every sale of a .press domain.

.press domains will be offered at attractive prices during May through Radix’s Registrar partners at www.freethe.press .