A reader poses with a copy of a recent issue of The Lakota Country Times. The Native-owned newspaper will offer free access to its website for the month of July and is launching a new mobile app. Photo from Facebook
LCT Giving Back To Quarter Million Followers
By Lakota Country Times Staff
www.lakotacountrytimes.com MARTIN—Over the course of the last year Lakota Country Times has grown at an unprecedented rate. Last week Lakota Country Times eclipsed the 250k follower mark on Facebook a number that dwarfs that of its competitors. The Facebook page itself has routinely reached more than 2 million people in a day as content created by LCT writers featuring people from across South Dakota’s reservations is now being distributed globally. To celebrate the accomplishment LCT publisher Connie Smith has announced that LCT will be launching a first-of-its-kind mobile app and website that will give readers the chance to access news gathered from Lakota communities. “We have had so many loyal readers who have helped us improve our content and keep our doors open that we wanted to find a way to give back to them,” said Smith. “We came to the decision that the best way to do this was to improve our capabilities and then grant free access to our website throughout July. If it wasn’t for the people who buy and read this paper we wouldn’t be here.” The new website will allow for readers to access LCT from any handheld device and will link the paper’s Facebook page directly to content hosted by the paper. Jenni Giovanetti, who staffs the LCT office and has been with the paper since its online inception in 2006, says that the rapid expansion of the paper’s reach is profound. “These days it is not uncommon for us to look at our Facebook numbers and see that we are reaching nearly 2 million people on a daily basis. At one point this paper only had 100 online subscriptions and now we are over 3000 with more being added every single day. With the launch of our new mobile app we are absolutely preparing for a surge in new subscriptions.”
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Although the paper only has four permanent staff members it features content from several freelance journalists who cover everything from land issues to sports to cultural events. Most recently LCT has helped to drive a conversation about the state of the Lakota language. The series has received national acclaim and will continue throughout the year as many stakeholders are weighing in on the issue. “What we pride ourselves on is our relationships with the communities we serve. To uphold our role in this relationship we need to remain a step ahead of our competitors and that is exactly what we are doing with the launch of this website and mobile app,” said LCT editor Brandon Ecoffey. “The work we do is for the people and it requires that we go the extra mile and that is something we enjoy doing.” Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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