(Feb. 1, 1999, Washington, DC): The
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs released a completely redesigned web site in February, 1999 with an updated, user-friendly interface and dozens of new features for site users. Created in 1995, the
Washington Report’s
web site began as a nine-page compilation of information about the magazine, its history, and its founders, expanding that same year to include the full text of three to five articles from the current issue of the
Washington Report after each issue was published. A year later, issues were made available in their entirety, and a full-text search engine was added to aid researchers. Since the Washington Report’s
debut on the Internet, the site has grown by thousands of pages and will continue to grow in the future. At present, issues are available through 1999, with new and back issues added daily. The Washington Report
will continue to make back issues available until every issue since the magazine’s beginning in April, 1982, is available in its entirety, and searchable with the Washington Report’s full-text search engine.
Although the Washington Report’s
web site already is consistently in the world’s four most popular Middle East-related web sites on the Internet, according to Direct Hit, dozens of new, user-inspired features are being added. Among the new features are email list groups, a greatly expanded, user-recommended resources section, an “Activists Corner” with links to upcoming events and newsworthy Middle East-related developments, a daily compilation of articles about the Middle East in major American newspapers (with links to those articles), and much, much more.
“The Washington Report’s
original web site was an incredible resource,” said web site developer Shawn Twing, “but now we’re taking it to an entirely different level. Once in place, the new features will prove invaluable to anyone serious in researching the Middle East, and there simply is no greater resource available — particularly at no charge — for understanding current events in the region than the massive back issue archive,” he added.
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