• by Tanya Gazdik , August 4, 2008

The new site -- 12 months in the making -- will offer video capability and 24/7 coverage for the first time. It is part of an international push for WWD which includes the October launch of a digital edition translated into Chinese.

Digital now represents 25% of total circulation of WWD, said Dan Lagani, president of the Fairchild Fashion Group. "We expect total paid circulation to climb with digital growing to 50% in the next five years," he said.

The site, which launched in 1998, was "a very good first go at the Internet," Lagani said. "But we needed a more fully functioning digital resource."

Other new content on the site includes a blog, daily stock reports and Web-only stories. The site also now allows for searchable access to every article and image from the past 12 months. The subscription-only site will have free access starting today for one week.

The newspaper can now offer its advertisers, who are challenged by the pressures of a global marketplace, the ability to reach the world of fashion in real time with a multi-platform approach, Lagani said.

WWD is opening a Tokyo bureau with the paper's first Asian editor designed to capture the global fashion, retail and beauty industry. The paper is also sourcing local printers in Milan and Paris who will print full-size papers during fashion week in September as opposed to the paper's previous pdf distribution during the important fashion event, said WWD Editor in Chief Ed Nardoza.

The upgrade of the website enables WWD to become an international news operation with a more global reach designed to service the reader with urgency since the hard copy of the paper is not delivered daily on time in Europe. The site will offer the most current information available, plus for the first time up-to-the-minute coverage of all the major runway shows, Nardoza said.

The new focus on the Web site helps "erase the print distribution obstacles of a niche publication," Nardoza said. The new site will offer 24/7 breaking news alerts.

Amy Ditullio, WWD.com's Web editor, recently joined the newspaper from iVillage.com, where she was managing editor/lifestyles. Previously, she was senior programming manager at AOL. In addition, Bruno Navarro has joined as online news editor from Todayshow.com, where he was morning news editor.