HNO 2.0 is coming.

HNO heads in a radical new direction, one that's in tune with the information revolution and the way our readers use technology. But, this will require a break.

We won't leave the scene entirely as stories of importance will be brought to you via our e-newsletter. Our e-blast will occur when stories do -- not necessarily on Thursdays, as was our custom. E-blasts to our 2,000+ active subscribers will now include a concise story that no longer requires you to "click-through" to retrieve the rest of the story.

To implement our vision requires a hiatus after our Oct. 29 issue. Our makeover, or more like it, complete overhaul, will be revealed by Pride '09.

Why so long?

Besides a well-deserved break for the staff - we've produced some 275+ issues since May 2003 -- time is needed to identify a new team and how to best implement our vision. Our new team (a blend of new professionals and existing writers) will have an impact on how our product comes together. New positions are being created for methods and areas of reporting we have not done in the past.

Our old model served us well for five years, but communications were vastly different in 2003. Downloading, not uploading, was the norm. Social networking was a chat room then. Now, MySpace, Facebook and others bring networking to a new level. Power searching and the emergence of Google allow people a greater knowledge base. In 2003, local organizations' Web sites were basic and often not updated regularly. Today, local organizations have good sites, and they communicate to their audience via e-blasts.

Mainstream media today is more willing to cover positive gay stories. News9, Fox 25, the Oklahoma Gazette and others now spend resources to build their gay audience through good reporting.

There remains a need for a local, gay-trusted news source -- but one that can change with the times.

Five years ago, a group of local gay journalists met and decided there was a void in Oklahoma City for gay news. The unfilled niche was online, not print. Hard News Online was born.

From day one, HNO has been a part-time gig for the writers, managing editors and publisher. In the early years, journalists wrote under pen names, so as not to be outed to their "day job" editors.

Without giving away too many details, we'll share this one change (one of many) with you. We will bring you local breaking news headlines via text messaging. You will be the first to know when local news breaks in the gay community - summed up in a "headline blurb" on your mobile device.

If you'd like this free service, respond to this e-mail (hardnewsokc@aol.com) with your mobile phone number. As a gift to you (and a motivation to encourage you to give us your mobile phone number, so we can text you) we'd like to give you a free souvenir HNO 5th anniversary coffee mug. It's our thank you for waking up with us Thursday mornings.

Please include your address if you would like free shipping of the coffee mug.

Thank you for five amazing years. There were many high points and great stories. And many friends made. Here's to the milestones, memories and ballot box victories.

See you next year!

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