Dear Reader | Teaming up to provide more coverage to Myrtle Beach area, Brunswick and Georgetown counties

As promised last week, we have some changes in store for the new year, and I’m ready to fill you in on the first in the series.

Regular readers of MyrtleBeachOnline.com may have noticed a new feature on the right side of the home screen for the Grand Strand News Alliance. It’s a link to headlines from trusted journalists we have chosen to partner with in order to provide readers with additional content. At the link, (go to MyrtleBeachOnline.com/grand-strand-news-alliance/ if you want to reach it directly) you’ll see Brunswick County and other North Carolina headlines from the Wilmington Star-News; Waccamaw Neck headlines from the Coastal Observer; and news from all over from our new broadcast partner, WPDE-TV.

For someone who has been in the business as long as I have, it represents a tectonic shift to team up with those who are also competitors to provide content to our readers. But as the news business morphs into its new persona, those old tenets no longer apply for those who want to provide the best experience for their readers. (In case you’re keeping score, that would be us.)

We are tired of letting sites such as Yahoo and Google aggregate our content (that’s tech-speak for copy and paste) and as the leading news sources on the Grand Strand, we decided to do some aggregating of our own.

In addition to the digital advantages, we also now publish the forecasts from Ed Piotrowski and his meterologist colleagues at WPDE on the back page of our Local section.

So check out the link, and the weather page, and let us know what you think.

More changes

If you are among those who like to do business with us face-to-face, make note of our new office hours.

The lobby will now be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday beginning Jan. 12. Our customer service line, 1-866-780-0786, is available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday.

You can also manage your account 24/7 at www.Myrtlebeachonline.com/myaccount.

A belated explanation

Many of you also were moved by the essay written by Horry County Police Chief Saundra Rhodes, and I feel a need to set the record straight.

She did not write that as a letter to us, as you have believed. Rather, she posted it on her Facebook page, and then to a wider audience. I read it because so many of my friends were sharing it, and like you, I was struck by her passion and insights and asked if we could republish it.

I should, however, have included that explanation as an editor’s note so it didn’t appear that the chief was the one seeking publication.

Nevertheless, I am glad so many of you responded to her words. Many have already shared their thoughts in the comments (102 at last check) and some have sent letters to the editor.

As always, I’m glad to hear from you and thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Dear Reader | Teaming up to provide more coverage to Myrtle Beach area, Brunswick and Georgetown counties."