A limitation of weekly newspaper publishing is timely coverage of local news. If news happens after midday on Tuesdays, it’s a week later before we can bring it to you print.

Thank goodness for websites.

SmithfieldTimes.com has been growing both in audience and importance over the past quarter-century. In addition to being the preferred way for many area residents to get their news in an increasingly digital world, it’s also allowed us to fill the long gap between weekly print editions when news is time-sensitive.

This week, we will launch a new product to help make our website even more useful for the people of Isle of Wight and Surry. Each Tuesday through Saturday morning, we will send a free email newsletter with headline links to content on our website. In addition to local news stories and commentary of interest, the newsletter will contain links to obituaries, including those that have not yet been published in print.

Obituaries are particularly challenging for a weekly newspaper, as oftentimes the visitation and funeral service have passed by the time the obituary makes it to print. With the email newsletter, you have a much better chance of seeing an obituary before services occur.

We have about 2,000 email addresses already in our subscriber database. If yours is among those, you’ll start receiving the email newsletter later this week. If you’ve not seen one by Friday morning, that likely means we don’t have your email address. You can sign up at http://eepurl.com/hZUO1P

Again, there’s no charge to receive the newsletter. And you can opt out at any time by clicking on a convenient “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email.

We hope you enjoy the newsletter, our newest effort to serve you with timely news and information about your community.