Abstract:
An apparatus and method for receiving daily data feeds of news article text and news images, extracting from the articles both the text content and the formatting directives used in the newspaper layout, restructuring the formatting directives into organizing directives for Web pages, storing the text content and the organizing directives in a database, storing the news images in an image library, retrieving the text content and organizing directives from the database in a pattern which may be made significantly different from the pattern in which they were stored, and combining them with Web page templates to produce a Web-readable news publication. The Web-readable publication appears each day in synchronization with the daily paper news publication, and may be delivered on any schedule or cycle of news publication. Editorial maintenance programs facilitate skilled modification and enhancement of the content and appearance of the Web-readable publication. Classified advertisements and death notices are accommodated in the Web-readable publication. Customized electronic mail summaries of news are delivered to subscribers. The cost of news delivery and software maintenance is low.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention is related to the electronic publication of text and images, and more specifically to the electronic publication of news text and news images on the World Wide Web.  
         DEFINITIONS  
         [0002]    “Basket” refers to a data element identifying a story&#39;s classification as used in news operations to separate stories by date, subject and location in the newsroom.  
           [0003]    “Deck” refers to a data element identifying a secondary or alternative headline for if a story.  
           [0004]    “Dynamic Web page” refers to a Web page which contains directives and program code processed on the Web server before being sent to the client for display to a reader. An example of a dynamic Web page is a Web page created with Active Server Pages (ASP) directives and program code embedded in it.  
           [0005]    “Kicker” refers to a data element identifying a grouping or classification of a story, usually within a section, e.g.: “NFL” within “Sports” 
           [0006]    “Link” refers to a hypertext reference embedded in a Web page, referring to another Web page. A link is also called a “Universal Record Locator”, or “URL”. Each link includes a display component which identifies that link to the viewer, and an address component which specifies the Web page to which the link refers.  
           [0007]    “Marked up” means that directions concerning text formatting, story placement, and links to other text and information are embedded in the text itself.  
           [0008]    “News presentation” here refers to the invention&#39;s complete set of Web pages presenting the current day&#39;s news, corresponding to the current day&#39;s printed newspaper and previous day&#39;s news stories.  
           [0009]    “Reader” refers here to a person using a computer connected to the World Wide Web to display and interact with the news presentation.  
           [0010]    “Section” refers to a data element the values of which identify a section of the newspaper in which a story may appear, e.g.: “Sports”, “Business”, “National/World”.  
           [0011]    “Story” refers to a news story of any type, including, but not restricted to, obituaries, classified advertisements, columns, box scores, opinions, and picture captions.  
           [0012]    “Topic” refers to a data element the values of which identify the specific subject area of a story as it appears in a given section. Examples of topics are: “NFL” within the Sports section, “Business News” within the Business section, or “Religion” within the Lifestyles section.  
         DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART  
         [0013]    The World Wide Web has become a potent and pervasive outlet for news. A computer user connected to the World Wide Web can assimilate, in a matter of minutes, any number of pages of text, images, animations, films and other carriers of information originating from points all over the world. The speed and richness of assimilation from the World Wide Web far exceeds the possibilities of the familiar printed newspaper and broadcast forms of news transmission. Consequently the traditional news outlets, both newspaper and broadcast, have raced to provide their news via the World Wide Web, alongside their existing forms of conveyance.  
           [0014]    Such a transition is neither easy nor inexpensive. A survey of the news outlets on the World Wide Web shows a wide variety of formats and approaches in use. Some require subscription. Some provide only a small portion of the news that appears in fall in their printed papers. Some require the use of special browser features or programs, to view parts of their content. The reader of news is faced with rules for reading the news on the Web which vary widely from one outlet to the next. This is a problem of ease of use.  
           [0015]    The lack of common formats and rules of operation is not the only problem. Supporting the facade of any Web newspaper is a complex structure of interrelated Web pages, all of which must be developed, interconnected and presented on a daily or more-frequent basis from the news Website. The complexity of interconnections among news Web pages is driven by the need to assist the reader to move quickly and accurately from one article or portion of an article to another. This complexity requires considerable skilled effort in its installation. When the required effort is predominantly manual, as with some existing Websites for newspapers, the cost of producing the Web newspaper can easily exceed the parent newspaper&#39;s ability to fund it. This is a second major problem.  
           [0016]    A third problem is that providing news over the World Wide Web offers little or no opportunity to recoup any of the costs of Web production from the reader. Faced with having to pay to get news from one source on the Web, a reader will simply turn to another news source which charges less or nothing. Therefore the Web news provider must look elsewhere for funding, and at the same time try to keep the cost of producing the Web version of the news as low as possible.  
           [0017]    In an effort to reduce costs, some Web news suppliers have resorted to the use of simple automated methods to present news text with a minimum of formatting and little or no linkage among articles or portions of their news presentation. Such an approach forces the reader to do considerable work to extract information of interest from the articles presented. A reader in this situation will, as with sources charging for access, turn elsewhere.  
           [0018]    The use of automated methods for news presentation on the Web creates a fourth major problem: the need to make ad hoc changes to the software programs which produce such news presentations. Some news stories have unusual formatting requirements. Some stories need links to other stories or Websites. Some stories have one or more characteristics which the existing software cannot convert for Web presentation. Such news stories require special processing, which can involve expensive, time-consuming and error-prone software changes.  
           [0019]    Finally, a Web-based reader of the news would strongly appreciate customized news summaries derived from the Web version of the reader&#39;s favorite local newspaper and conveyed via electronic mail.  
           [0020]    To summarize, the provision of news over the World Wide Web presents these challenges: improving ease of use, lowering the cost of production, avoiding charging the reader for reading the news, making the news presentation attractive, avoiding software changes wherever possible, and providing customized local news delivery to customers over the Web. Meeting all of these challenges at once would improve significantly the ability of news providers to compete successfully on the World Wide Web.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0021]    This invention receives daily data feeds of news article text and news images, extracts from the articles both the text content and the formatting directives used in the newspaper layout, restructures the formatting directives into organizing directives for Web pages, stores the text content and the organizing directives in a database, stores the news images in an image library, retrieves the text content and organizing directives from the database in a pattern which may be made significantly different from the pattern in which they were stored, and combines them with Web page templates to produce a Web-readable news publication. The Web-readable publication appears each day in synchronization with the daily paper news publication. The invention is adaptable to any schedule or cycle of news publication. The invention also provides editorial maintenance programs to facilitate skilled modification and enhancement of the content and appearance of the Web-readable publication. The invention further provides presentation of classified advertisements and death notices in the Web-readable publication. The invention still further reduces the cost of software maintenance, and provides customized electronic mail summaries of news delivered to subscribers. The invention&#39;s combination of features and capabilities provides for a low-cost, attractive, easy-to-use, and easy-to-maintain news publication on the World Wide Web, at no cost to the reader. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 shows the overall layout of the invention&#39;s data and processing components.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 shows the invention&#39;s overall process and information flow.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 shows the tables of the editorial database, and their primary keys and relating fields.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3 a  shows the Story table of the editorial database, and the related metaStory table with all source fields not stored in the Story table.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 b  shows the JustToday table of the editorial database, and its relationships to the Story table and other tables.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3 c  shows the Story table of the editorial database, and its relationships to the Topic, Keyword, Kicker, Section, Town, Neighborhood, and StoryGroupings tables.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 d  shows the Story table of the editorial database, and its relationships to the Captions, Author, MultipleAuthor and Press tables.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 shows the template layout for the main news Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5 shows the template layout for the section news Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 6 shows the template layout for the topic news Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 7 shows the template layout for the story news Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 8 shows the template layout for the classified search Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 8 a  shows the template layout for the classified search response Web page including the text and Web link text areas.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 9 shows descending links from the main, section and topic news Web pages to section, topic, and story news Web pages.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 9 a  shows lateral links between section and section news Web pages, topic and topic news Web pages, and story and story news Web pages.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 9 b.  shows ascending links from story, topic and section news Web pages to topic, section and main news Web pages.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 10 shows the filtering process and its components.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 11 shows the publish process and its components.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 12 shows the editorial maintenance process in overview form, and its related files and programs.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 13 shows an overview of the interfaces of the editorial maintenance process.  
         [0042]    Each of FIGS. 13 a - 13   s  shows a different one of the interfaces of the editorial maintenance process, and the tables in the editorial database it reads or modifies.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 14 shows the editorial archive process and its related files.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 15 shows the classified advertisement maintenance process and its related files.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 16 shows the death notice maintenance process and its related files.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 17 shows an overview of the interfaces of the news electronic mail maintenance process, and the tables and files it reads or modifies.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 18 shows the electronic mail process for news electronic mail. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION  
       [0048]    Overview  
         [0049]    Refer first to FIG. 1. The invention is made up of a computer system  10  including one or more subsystems  20 , each with its own processor  22 , memory  24  and storage devices  30 , a set of interrelated programs  25  which execute on computer system  10 , an editorial database  33  residing on computer system  10 , and a set of files  35  residing on computer system  10 . The invention&#39;s computer system  10  is connected to the World Wide Web  40 .  
         [0050]    See FIG. 2. The invention&#39;s subsystems in computer system  10  include a maintenance Web server subsystem  120  and a public Web server  220 . The inputs to the invention&#39;s processing programs in maintenance Web server subsystem  120  are the computer-stored input images  121  and story files  123 . These files are created in the routine production of the daily printed newspaper, and originate on newspaper source systems  5 . The input images  121 , including news photos, advertising photos, and related graphics, arrive in a variety of electronic file formats. The electronic story files  123  arrive in a marked-up form as extracted from a pagination database on story bridge system  6 . Each story file contains the text, headlines, authors, and press for a story, codes indicating the section of the newspaper in which the story belongs, the topic of the story, other story classification criteria, and editing markup codes for text size, font, and other text appearance characteristics.  
         [0051]    The invention publishes the news on the World Wide Web using five separate programs. A filter program  131  extracts information in story files  123 , stores the information in an editorial database  400 , and starts a publishing program  133 . Publishing program  133  retrieves story information from database  400  and produces a set of published news Web pages  125 . Conversion program  135  converts input images  121  into images in a common format and stores the converted images in an image library  142 . Maintenance program  137  is made up of a suite of maintenance Web pages. Maintenance program  137  retrieves published news Web pages  125  and enables a proofreader  150  to edit stories in database  400 , link stories in database  400  with images in image library  142 , and start publish program  133 . Editorial archival program  139  selects published news Web pages  125  which have been displayed for a specified number of days, extracts information from these news Web pages, stores the information in news archive files  144 , and replaces the extracted pages with pointers to an outside News Library source.  
         [0052]    The paragraphs which follow describe the input files, the editorial database in which the data in the input files are stored, the news Web pages generated out of the editorial database, the templates used in the generation process, and the structure and linkage of the generated news Web pages.  
         [0053]    Input Story Files  
         [0054]    The primary input to the invention is the daily set of story files  123  produced in HTML dump format as a by-product from the process of publishing the printed newspaper. Each dump story file  123  contains the text of the story and a series of identifiably-marked data fields, called tags, containing classification and other descriptive information concerning that story. Many conventional style tags are not needed for Web editions of the newspaper. Although a dump story file  123  can be viewed as an HTML Web page, it lacks the formatting and linkage appropriate for easy Web reading. The invention&#39;s filter program  131  uses selected style tags to place the story correctly in the editorial database  400  and thus in the news Web pages  125 . The selections and forms of tags are varied, and are described in the following section.  
         [0055]    The Filter  
         [0056]    Filter program  131  reads story files  123  one by one. Each story file  123  contains one or more text news stories. A news story may be a news story as marked up for printing in the newspaper, or it may be a caption as marked up for printing with a news picture, or it may be a portion of a news story marked up for printing. “Marked up” means that directions concerning story text formatting, story placement, and links to other stories and information are embedded in the story text itself. Such markup directions, also called “meta tags” or “style tags”, are identified by distinctive sequences of characters which delimit, or enclose, tags and values not a part of the story text. An example of a meta tag might be:  
         [0057]    &lt;!META NAME=”TOPIC:” CONTENT=”PICKS“&gt; 
         [0058]    where the opening “&lt;“and the closing “&gt;” signal to a program reading the story that one or more markup codes are enclosed. In this particular code, the word “NAME” before the “=” is a tag, used to assign a meaning to the value following the “=”, in this case “TOPIC:”. “CONTENT” is a second tag, associated with the value “PICKS “.  
         [0059]    This particular combination of codes means that the name of a specific variable is “TOPIC”, and the value to be assigned to that variable is “PICKS”.  
         [0060]    An example of a style tag might be:  
         [0061]    “&lt;!SII NAME=”SII.STYL.KEY”CONTENT=”[FT,h”&gt; Headline text” where it signals to a program reading the story that one or more markup codes are enclosed. In this particular code, “[FT,h” denotes a headline tag. All data contained after this and before the next style tag is considered a headline to a story. There are various tags that denote different information.  
         [0062]    Some style tags may appear in pairs, enclosing text and possibly other markup codes and style tags between them. For example, the tag “&lt;HEAD&gt;” begins a section of information that may include story text and other markup directions. The tag “&lt;/HEAD&gt;”, including a “/” character just after the opening “&lt;“ character, ends such a section.  
         [0063]    A markup language is made up of an interrelated set of tags, such as meta and style tags, of different types. Different markup languages exist to serve different purposes. The most well-known markup language in use for constructing text-bearing Web pages is HTML, or Hyper-Text Markup Language. Other markup languages are used for formatting and structuring text and text content for printed media. Any file may contain tags from more than one markup language. While sensitive to certain specific tags from certain markup languages in a file, the invention may be easily adapted to process other tags in any markup language.  
         [0064]    Each story file  123  contains large numbers of different style tags and codes. Writers and editors use software to direct the story&#39;s placement and formatting in its printed newspaper form. This software intersperses these style tags and codes in the story text to reflect editing changes and requirements. Consequently the inserted tags and codes appear in story files  123 . For each story file  123 , filter program  131  reads file  123  and removes all style tags not relevant to the creation of a Web version of the story. Filter program  131  also locates any picture caption related to the story, and creates a separate story out of the caption information, to be placed eventually with the picture on a Web page.  
         [0065]    The Editorial Database  
         [0066]    The invention&#39;s processing centers around editorial database  400 . Editorial database  400  is a relational database residing on maintenance Web server system  120 . The editorial database is accessed using a supporting database management system (DBMS). The editorial database is made up of a set of interrelated tables each having within it a set of records, also called rows. Each row in turn has within it a set of data elements, also called here columns or fields. Within a given table, all rows possess the same set of data elements, some or all of which may be populated with different data values. For each table a subset of data elements is identified which serves as a primary key for the table. A table&#39;s primary key identifies each one of its rows uniquely.  
         [0067]    Refer to FIG. 3 for an overall view of the editorial database, its tables, and the principal relationships among them. Each relationship is shown as a line between a column named in a table and a primary key specified for another table. The stories from the newspaper are stored in editorial database  400  in component form. The stories to be displayed on the news Website are retrieved from editorial database  400  in an organization different from that of the source newspaper. Editorial database  400  has as its main component story table  401  which contains all story text and all organizational information for each story.  
         [0068]    As shown in FIG. 3, certain data elements in story table  401  refer to other tables where additional information related to each such data element is stored. The story&#39;s author is stored in author table  407  with author-related information. Any additional authors for the story are stored in multiple author table  412 . The press source for the story is stored in press table  408  with press-related data. The story kicker is placed in kicker table  406  with kicker-related data. The story&#39;s town is stored in town table  409  with related geographic data.  
         [0069]    Two tables serve to provide the organizing “co-ordinates” for the story, fixing each story in a specific section of the Website under a specific topic. Each topic is a subclassification of a specific section. The section to which the story belongs appears in section table  404  with section-related information. The topic to which the story belongs appears in topic table  405  with topic-related information. Sections and topics are chosen and organized to mirror to any desired degree the choices and organization of the sections and topics of the printed newspaper produced from the same source information.  
         [0070]    Story table  401  is also supported by captions table  414 , keyword table  413 , neighborhood table  410 , and story groupings table  411 . Captions table  414  is used for linking images and captions to news stories. Keyword table  413  is used for determining a story&#39;s topic based on keywords found in the story text. Story groupings table  411  is In used to place selected stories in a scrolling display area on the main news page, and to create two sports stories, ON-AIR and SPORTS TODAY, which can be viewed from the bottom of the Sports section page on the Website.  
         [0071]    Editorial database  400  also incorporates tables which reduce database access overhead and simplify certain frequent accesses to the most recent news stories. A meta story table  402  contains style tags extracted from the stories in story files  123 . Meta story table  402  data is used for historical purposes, and to reduce the size of each record in story table  401 . A table view  403 , showing the current news stories in table  401 , holds all stories fromthe current publishing date. Activity log  415  is used by the filter program to direct updates either to the test Web site or the live Web site.  
         [0072]    [0072]FIGS. 3 a - 3   d  show each table, its primary key columns, and the relationships among tables. As for FIG. 3, each relationship is shown as a line between a column named in a table and a primary key specified for another table.  
         [0073]    [0073]FIG. 3 a  identifies the columns in story table  401  and meta story table  402 . The combined contents ofthese two tables makes up the whole of story-based information for each story. The two tables are separated in order to reduce database access overhead during the publishing of the news on the Website. The columns in meta story table  402  are not used in the Web publishing process.  
         [0074]    [0074]FIG. 3 b  shows the column composition of the view  403  of the current day&#39;s news stories. Columns from story table  401 , town table  409 , topic table  405 , section table  404 , author table  407 , press table  408 , and kicker table  406  are all joined for the current day&#39;s stories to produce view  403 . Use of view  403  simplifies the programming and program operation when accessing the current day&#39;s news stories.  
         [0075]    [0075]FIG. 3 c  identifies the columns in tables used in determining the topic and section assignment of a story. These include story table  401 , section table  404 , topic table  405 , keyword table  413 , kicker table  406 , town table  409 , neighborhood table  410 , and story groupings table  411 .  
         [0076]    [0076]FIG. 3 d  identifies the columns in the remaining tables in editorial database  400 . Shown here are captions table  414 , author table  407 , multiple authors table  412 , and press table  408 .  
         [0077]    The invention also incorporates a classified advertisement and death notices database, made up of a classified ads table, a classified help wanted table, a help wanted keyword table, and a death notices table. These tables store all classified advertisements and death notices for display using the classified and death notice Web pages, and for reader search for specific classified advertisements or death notices.  
         [0078]    The invention further incorporates an electronic mail notification database, made up of a subscribers table and an electronic mail table. These tables store subscriber and electronic mail information for readers who have chosen to have news in certain topics mailed directly to them electronically.  
         [0079]    The invention&#39;s use of a relational database management system (RDBMS) provides for convenient changes to the editorial, classified, deaths, and other databases, such as addition and modification of tables, addition and modification of columns within tables, modification of relationships among columns and tables, and the combining or splitting of different sets of tables used in diverse applications. The set of tables, columns, and relationships presented here may be changed easily to meet new requirements and conditions of processing and presentation of the news Web pages. This flexibility constitutes a significant advantage of the invention over systems which do not employ RDBMS technology.  
         [0080]    News Web Pages  
         [0081]    As generated from the editorial database and a set of Web page templates, a single news Web page is made up of different regions, one of which shows a standard top of page, another a standard bottom of the page, a third the principal navigational links on the page, and a fourth region which may contain a single story, a list of stories, a formatted set of stories, a title, or a search form for use by the reader. Each story in turn includes a headline, a kicker, an author or authors, a press identifier, and possibly one or more cross-reference links to other stories. A news section or topic Web page may carry a story which is too long to fit in the space of that page, in which case that news Web page will display the leading part of the story and a link to the news story Web page containing the story. Each such link is a universal record locator (URL) as commonly used to permit a reader using the Web to change the display from one news Web page to another. The headline displayed for the leading part of a story incorporates a link to the complete text of that story.  
         [0082]    News Web Page Templates  
         [0083]    Each news Web page is constructed using a template. A template is a text file which includes text codes defining the formatting, content and operation of a specific region of the Web page, and includes markers identifying points and ranges in the template where information may be inserted, copied or deleted. As the templates are assembled by the Publish program, each template&#39;s contents are merged with story text, links, program codes, and formatting information to produce a functioning news Web page.  
         [0084]    The invention&#39;s news Web page templates use four basic formats, shown in FIGS. 4, 5,  6 , and  7 . These figures are used to refer both to the empty templates before news information is added to them, and to the completed Web pages resulting from the addition of news information to the templates. As shown in FIG. 4, the main Web page template  500 X is used to build the primary Web page  500  first seen when a reader enters the site using a Web browser. As shown in FIG. 5, the section Web page template  600 X is used to build each of the section Web pages  600  first seen when a reader selects a section link for a section of the news such as “national/world”, “business”, or “sports” news. As shown in FIG. 6, the topic Web page template  700 X is used to build each of the topic Web pages  700  first seen when a reader selects a topic link for a topic within a given section, e.g., “state”, “national”, or “international” within the “national/world” section. As shown in FIG. 7, the story Web page template  800 X is used to build each of the story Web pages  800  first seen when a reader selects a story link.  
         [0085]    News on certain topics is generally presented in specialized formats customized conventionally for each topic. The invention incorporates a wide range of specialized templates to produce conventional Web page formats expected by readers. The invention&#39;s range of suchtemplates includes those forpages presenting sports box scores, sports league standings, movie reviews, travel, cartoons, bridal announcements, and entertainment listings and reviews. Additional Active Server Pages define the format, processing, and display of Web pages for classified listings, death notices, and news archive searches. Each of these news categories requires special formatting and display of its information, and the invention&#39;s templates meet their requirements without requiring significant programming effort. The diversity of design and content of templates is shown here via the set of classified advertisement search templates, shown in FIGS. 8 and 8 a.    
         [0086]    While FIGS. 4, 5,  6 ,  7 ,  8  and  8   a  show the layouts of the templates approximately as they might appear on a computer screen, the details of proportion, relative placement and sizing of regions, and contents and behavior of any region of any template may be easily modified by changes to the template itself, to the files loaded into the template, to the publish software that builds the Web pages, to the dynamic Web page code stored in the template or its supporting files, or to the HTML code stored in the template or its supporting files.  
         [0087]    Story Web page templates take many forms distinguished primarily by the specialized formatting of their story text areas. The form variations include sports story templates such as: a news Web page template for presenting sports news stories, a baseball box score Web page template for displaying baseball box scores, a baseball leaders Web page template for displaying information on leading baseball teams, a baseball standings Web page template for displaying team standings of different baseball leagues, a football box score Web page template to show football box scores, and a football standings Web page template to show relative team standings in the football leagues.  
         [0088]    Template form variations also include social story templates such as: a bridal Web page template for displaying wedding announcements and related information, an entertainment Web page template to display entertainment event announcements and entertainment sources, a movie reviews Web page template, a cartoon Web page template, and a travel Web page template for displaying travel stories and related information.  
         [0089]    In addition, template form variations include such operational templates as an archival Web page template to allow a reader to be redirected to an outside source for news stories that have been archived. Also, those skilled in the art could use the filter and publish programs to produce news Web pages without templates.  
         [0090]    News Web Page Structure  
         [0091]    Refer now to FIG. 4. In appearance, the main Web page template  500 X is divided into regions, populated with news data to produce a main Web page  500 . First is a top region  501  identifying the source newspaper with a banner image and text, and displaying links to specialized Web pages including the news archives, the classified advertisements, the death announcements, a wire service page, a Website map page, and a page enabling the reader to prepare and send an electronic mail message to the sponsors of the Website. Next in order down the Web page is a region  502  carrying links to special sites and non-news Web pages of interest. A region  503  follows, containing a banner advertisement. Next is a series of news regions: a title region  504 , a main region  505  displaying a lead story  505   a  with headline  505   d , a lead story photograph  505   b  and caption  505   c , a link  505   e  to the complete lead story, another main region  506  displaying the headlines  506   d  and leads  506   a  for other top stories, a farther main region  507  displaying the headlines  507   d  and leads  507   a  for other stories, and a further main region  508  displaying one or more links  508   c  to section Web pages and their stories. Section link region  510  contains a list of links to each of the different section Web pages. An additional region  530  displays news briefs in a scrolling region of the page. Several smaller regions display advertisements. Another region  520  displays a search input area  520   a  where the reader may request the Website to search through the news presentation for specific keywords. A bottom region  540  contains a copyright notice and a link to the top region of the page.  
         [0092]    The principal effect of the display of the main Web page  500  is to give an online reader immediate access, to all sections of the news via links in region  510 , to the most prominently-featured news stories, to a variety of advertising images and links, to all principal sections of the Website and related sites through links in regions  501  and  502 .  
         [0093]    In appearance, section and topic Web page templates are similar to each other. Both differ from the main Web page template in that the top region in both replaces the newspaper name and image with section names and images, and replace the main Web page&#39;s links to other sites with links to all section Web pages. Both section and topic Web page templates further differ from the main Web page template in that they replace the main Web page&#39;s links to all section Web pages with a set of links to all topic Web pages within the same section.  
         [0094]    Refer to FIG. 5. The section Web page template  600 X is populated with news data to produce section Web pages  600 . A section Web page  600  presents headlines  605   d ,  606   d,    607   d,  and  608   d  and first parts  605   a ,  606   a,    607   a,  and  608   a  of top stories for the section including links to the complete stories, and navigation links to other Web pages. The section Web page template differs from the main Web page template in that its top region  601  replaces the newspaper name and image with section names and images, and its next region  602  replaces the main Web page&#39;s links to other sites with links to all section Web pages. The section Web page template further differs from the main Web page template in that it replaces region  510  containing the main Web page&#39;s links to all section Web pages with a region  610  containing a set of links to all topic Web pages within the same section. The section Web page also differs from the main Web page in that it contains no region analogous to region  508  displaying one or more links to section Web pages and their stories. The section Web page also differs from the main Web page in that it contains a region  609  displaying a link to the main Web page and a link to the section Web page itself.  
         [0095]    The section template  600 X closely resembles the main template  500 X in that its top stories regions  605 ,  606  and  607  and their contents take the same form as regions  505 ,  506  and  507  respectively on the main Web page. The section Web page  600  also carries advertising in regions  603 ,  621 ,  622 . As in main Web page  500 , another region  620  displays a search input area  620   a  where the reader may request the Website to search through the news presentation for specific keywords. Region  639  contains links to On-Air and Sports Today stories. A bottom region  640  contains a copyright notice and a link to the top region of the page.  
         [0096]    The principal effect of the display of a section Web page  600  is to give an online reader immediate access to all sections of the news via links in region  602 , to all topics within the currently-displayed section via links in region  610 , to the most prominently-featured news in the currently-displayed section, to a variety of advertising images and links, and to all principal sections of the Website and related sites through links in region  601 .  
         [0097]    As shown in FIG. 6, topic Web page template  700 X is populated with news data to produce topic Web pages  700 . A topic Web page  700  presents a region  705  containing headlines  705   d  and story openings  705   a  of all stories for the topic including links to the complete stories, and navigation links to other Web pages. This presentation of story headlines and openings is the principal difference between the topic Web page format and the formats of the main and section Web page templates. As in the case of the section Web page  600 , the topic Web page  700  differs from the main Web page  500  in that its top region  701  replaces the newspaper name and image with section names and images, and replaces the main Web page&#39;s region  502  of links to other sites with a region  702  of links to all section Web pages. The topic Web page template further differs from the main Web page template in that it replaces the main Web page&#39;s region  510  of links to all section Web pages with a region  710  containing a set of links to all topic Web pages within the same section. The topic Web page also differs from the main Web page in that it contains a region  709  displaying a link to the main Web page and a link to the section Web page itself The topic Web page  700  also carries advertising in regions  703  and  722 . As in main Web page  500 , another region  720  displays a search input area  720   a  where the reader may request the Website to search through the news presentation for specific keywords. A bottom region  740  contains a copyright notice and a link to the top region of the page.  
         [0098]    The principal effect of the display of a topic Web page  700  is to give an online reader immediate access to all sections of the news via links in region  702 , to all topics within the currently-displayed section via links in region  710 , to the complete list of news stories in the currently-displayed topic in region  705 , to a variety of advertising images and links, and to all principal sections of the Website and related sites through links in region  701 .  
         [0099]    For story Web page template  800 X, refer to FIG. 7. Story Web page template is populated with news data to produce story Web pages  800 . A story Web page  800  presents a single complete story  805  together with optional links to related stories, and navigation links to other Web pages. Just as for the section and topic Web pages  600  and  700 , the story Web page&#39;s top region  801  replaces the newspaper name and image with a section name and image, and replaces the main Web page&#39;s link region  502  to other sites with a region  802  containing links to all section Web pages. Like the section and topic Web page templates, the story Web page template differs from the main Web page template in that it replaces region  510  containing the main Web page&#39;s links to all section Web pages with a region  810  containing a set of links to all topic Web pages within the same section. The story Web page template also carries a region  809  containing specific links to its parent section and to the main Web page. The story Web page  800  also carries advertising in regions  803  and  822 . As in main Web page  500 , another region  820   116  displays a search input area  820 a where the reader may request the Website to search through the news presentation for specific keywords. A bottom region  840  contains a copyright notice and a link to the top region of the page.  
         [0100]    The principal effect of the display of a story Web page  800  is to give an online reader immediate access in region  805  to a single complete news story and its captions and pictures, to all sections of the news via links in region  802 , to all topics within the currently-displayed section via links in region  810 , to a variety of advertising images and links, and to all principal sections of the Website and related sites through links in top region  801 .  
         [0101]    For classified advertisement search Web page template  900 X, refer to FIG. 8. This is the template for the Web page which appears when a topic or category is selected on the Classified main Web page. Classified advertisement search template  900 X is populated with classified advertisement category information and related data to produce classified advertisement search Web pages  900 . Classified advertisement Web page  900  contains a search input area  930 , which in turn contains a search subcategory selection area  931 , a keyword input area  932 , a search parameter input area  933 , a search results display sizing input area  934 , and a search initiation input area  935 . Classified advertisement Web page  900  also contains an advertisement selection link  925  providing the Web user with a means of displaying the set of classified advertisements the Web user has selected for responses to the advertisers.  
         [0102]    Just as for the section, topic, and story Web pages  600 ,  700 , and  800 , the classified advertisement Web page&#39;s top region  901  replaces the newspaper name and image with a section name and image, and replaces the main Web page&#39;s link region  502  to other sites with a region  902  containing links to all section Web pages. Like the section, topic, and story Web page templates, the classified advertisement Web page template differs from the main Web page template in that it replaces region  510  containing the main Web page&#39;s links to all section Web pages with a region  910  containing a set of links to all topic Web pages within the same section. In the classified advertisement Web pages, the topic list in region  910  displays the set of possible search categories within the complete set of classified advertisements. The classified advertisement Web page template also carries a region  909  containing specific links to its parent section and to the main Web page. The classified advertisement Web page template  900  also carries advertising in regions  903  and  922 . Finally, Web page template  900  displays a bottom region  940  containing copyright information.  
         [0103]    See FIG. 8 a.  The results of a classified advertisement search are displayed using a classified advertisement search response Web page template  950 X, which is populated with search responses in the form of classified advertisements to produce classified advertisement Web page  950 . This search response Web page  950  is identical to the classified advertisement search Web page  900 , except that it replaces the search parameter input area  930  with a search results display and selection area  980 . In results display and selection area  980 , all classified advertisements  981  matching the Web user&#39;s submitted criteria are displayed, each with a selection input area  981   a.  Selection input area  981   a  provides the Web user with a means of grouping the advertisements for viewing together. Some classified advertisements contain one or more links (URLs)  981   b  allowing the Web user to display a Web page containing more information on the advertisement.  
         [0104]    The use of templates simplifies considerably the process of maintaining the Web pages and producing the overall news presentation on the Website. Presenting the news requires great flexibility in organizing and formatting the individual stories and the pages on which they appear. To present the news on a Website in a manner and appearance consistent with the paper form of the presentation (i.e., the printed newspaper) requires frequent customized adjustment and adaptation of the story text, links, program codes, and formatting information. Such changes must be done efficiently and accurately.  
         [0105]    In a first embodiment, the invention assembles its templates into news Web page form using software programs written in a commonly-used high-level object-oriented programming language such as Visual Basic. The use of templates allows many such changes to be performed without changing software programs. A progranmner or other individual having to make changes to the format and organization of the news presentations on the news Website can do so by making a change to a marked-up template rather than to software program code. In a second embodiment, the invention eliminates the use oftemplates by simply embedding the template content in the software programs. The approach of the second embodiment requires that changes to news Web pages be accomplished by making program changes, and then testing and installing these changes to the Website software. Such a process consumes more time, costs more money, and presents more chance of error than the use of templates in the first embodiment. This difference confers a significant advantage on the invention&#39;s first embodiment using templates.  
         [0106]    News Web Page Linkage  
         [0107]    The organization and placement of news stories on the World Wide Web is of necessity different from their organization and placement in the printed newspaper. The reader of a printed newspaper may scan across large pages of print and images, skipping detailed text and articles of less interest, and may turn pages and fold the paper in the course of reading a story. By contrast, the reader of a Web newspaper views the news only through the screen window, and cannot scan multiple headlines quickly where they are dispersed among articles. Each page of a Web newspaper has limited room for story text. Finding topics and stories on the Web cannot be done the same way as with a printed newspaper. Navigating through the increased number of pages requires the addition of navigation aids for the computer user. Consequently the organization ofnews makes the printed form and the Web form of presentation differ sharply, both in their appearance and in their use.  
         [0108]    A reader of a printed newspaper uses the physical newspaper&#39;s size and pagination, and its page and section references, to scan the headlines, follow the text of a given story, or select another story, topic or section to read. A Web-published newspaper lacks a large page size that can be easily scanned, but it offers the linking mechanisms of hypertext links (URLs) to let the reader do the same things. The invention provides a rich set of such links to help the reader of the news.  
         [0109]    To provide navigation information for the reader to select different sections of the news to read, publish program  133  places a list of all sections in the main, section, topic, and story Web pages. Each list entry incorporates a URL for a different section Web page. Likewise, to provide navigation information for the reader to select different topics of thenews to readwithin a section, publish program  133  places alist of alltopics, with a link to the topic Web page for each topic, in the section, topic, and story Web pages. Each list entry incorporates a URL for a different topic Web page. Finally, some topics are further broken down into subtopics. For each ofthese topics, publish program  133  replaces the list of topics in the section with a list of all subtopics within the topic. The UTRL incorporated in each entry in these lists points to a different subtopic Web page. The same list of subtopics that appears on a topic Web page appears on the Web page for each of its subtopics. In its overall format, a subtopic Web page is substantially identical to a topic Web page.  
         [0110]    Once prepared for the current day&#39;s news presentation, the different types of Web pages produced from the templates are linked together to provide the reader with extensive navigation choices. Some links descend from the main news Web page through the other types of news Web page. Other links laterally connect news Web pages of the same type. Still more links ascend from the story Web pages up through to the main news Web page.  
         [0111]    Refer now to FIG. 9, which shows the flow of links downward, starting with the main Web page at the top, as descending arrows. The main Web page  500  contains links, or URLs, in region  510  pointing to a section Web page for each section Web page  600  of the news presentation, and links  505   d,    506   d,    507   d,    508   d  pointing to a story Web page  800  for each story featured on the main Web page. Each section Web page  600  in turn contains links pointing to a topic Web page  700  for each topic within that section, and links  605   d,    606   d,    607   d  pointing to a story Web page  800  for each story featured on that section Web page  600 . Each topic Web page  700  in turn contains links  705   d  pointing to a story Web page  800  for each story featured on that topic Web page.  
         [0112]    Refer now to FIG. 9 a,  which shows the flow of links between Web pages of the same type as lateral arrows. Each section Web page  600  contains links in region  601  pointing to each other section Web page  600 . Each topic Web page  700  contains links in region  710  pointing to each other topic Web page  700  within the same section. If a topic has subtopics, each subtopic has its own topic Web page, and its links in region  710  to other topics are to the topic Web pages  700  for the subtopics within the same parent topic. Some story Web pages carry links to other story Web pages, for related stories.  
         [0113]    Refer now to FIG. 9 b,  which shows the flow of Web page links upward, starting with story Web pages  800  at the bottom, as ascending arrows. All story Web pages  800  contain links in region  810  pointing to a topic Web page  700  for each topic within the same section as the story, links in region  809  pointing to the story&#39;s parent section  600  and the main Web page  500 , and links in region  801  pointing to all sections of the news presentation. Topic Web pages  700  in turn contain links in region  701  pointing to all sections of the news presentation, and links in region  709  pointing to the story&#39;s parent section  600  and the main Web page  500 . Section Web pages  600  in turn contain links in region  609  pointing to the main Web page  500 .  
         [0114]    In addition to the links and categories of links listed above, any Web page may contain additionallinks to othertopic Web pages  700 , other section Web pages  600 , other story Web pages  800 , or Web pages from other Web sites as specified in the template.  
         [0115]    The invention&#39;s use oftemplates and dynamic Web pages provides for responsive, flexible, timely news presentation with a minimum of software design, development and testing. The set of templates and dynamic Web pages presented here may be changed easily to meet new requirements and conditions of processing and presentation of the news Web pages. This flexibility constitutes a significant advantage of the invention over systems which do not employ dynamic Web page technology.  
       OPERATION OF INVENTION  
       [0116]    Overview  
         [0117]    The invention&#39;s principal purpose is to present newspaper content on the World Wide Web for Web users, in a form most suitable for use on a computer connected to the World Wide Web. See FIG. 2 for the primary pathways of operation which fulfill this purpose. The invention reads news text input in the form of HTML dump story files  123 , inserts them into editorial database  400  using filter program  131 , provides test site access via maintenance program  137  for a proofreader  150  to apply edits and corrections to the editorial database, and publishes the news from the database onto news pages  125  using publish program  133 . Other processing pathways support the text news, specifically the processing of input graphics and photos  121 , shown in FIG. 2, and the processing of classified advertisements and death notices, not shown in this figure. Still other processing pathways, also not shown in this figure, prepare and send electronic mail with news items and links to subscribed Web users. The following sections describe the processing performed in presenting the news to the Web users.  
         [0118]    The Filter Process  
         [0119]    Filter program  131  is executed every hour. It translates text and style tags in each incoming story file into the text and codes required to organize, format and present the same story on the World Wide Web. Conventional news stories include numerous style tags that are superfluous for Web pages. The filter program  131  separates the useful style tags from the superfluous tags. The filter program then stores each story and its codes in the editorial database  400 . Refer to FIG. 10. Filter program  131  first reads a stored set of constant values  131   a  used in locating files and databases, setting size limits to data elements and lists of internal data, specifying time and time interval limits, defining lists of valid values for table entries, and specifying any other parameters and parameter values. The contents of set  131   a  may vary from one execution of filter program  131  to another execution at another time. Changing the contents of set of constant values  131   a  changes inputs, operation, and outputs of filter program  131 .  
         [0120]    Each story file  123  contains large numbers of different style tags and codes. These style tags and codes were previously interspersed in the story text by software the writer or an editor uses in order to direct the story&#39;s placement and formatting in its printed newspaper form. First, for each story file  123 , filter program  131  reads file  123  and removes all style tags not relevant to the creation of a Web version of the story. Filter program  131  also locates any picture caption related to the story, and creates a separate story out of the caption information, to be placed eventually with the picture on a Web page.  
         [0121]    Filter program  131  stores each text news story in the editorial database with all the information needed to place it and present it properly on the Website. To obtain this information, the filter program  131  parses the story text to extract, translate and store in editorial database  400  the story&#39;s topic, section, kicker, press source, author, headline, sub-headline, geographical placement, keywords, basket, deck, and any other classification information useful in placing the story on the Website. The parsing, extraction and storage processes are performed using techniques familiar to those versed in the art of computer programming.  
         [0122]    The topic of a story determines a story&#39;s placement on the Website. Determination of a topic is consequently the most important issue in preparing the story for storage in the editorial database and later publishing of the story on the Website. To determine the Website topic of a story for the Website, filter program  131  uses the style tags for the edition, story name, page assigned, basket, topic, keyword, guide, library, author, and story number as supplied in the input story file  123 . Program  131  then tests combinations of these style tags to establish a value for the topic as required for the Website. If these combinations fail to yield a valid topic, program  131  then uses the story&#39;s kicker as the topic, if the kicker exists. If the topic is still unassigned, program  131  then tries to find a town name that matches the story&#39;s town, and assign the town&#39;s topic to the story.  
         [0123]    If no topic is assigned by any of the above processes, program  131  then attempts to match keywords in the story to keywords listed for each known topic. Program  131  weights its matches according to whether a match was found in the headline, the kicker, the deck or the body of the story, and assigns the topic on the basis of the best weighted keyword match.  
         [0124]    This topic assignment process may take one of several forms. In a first embodiment, a story&#39;s topic and other similar data element values are determined by programming language code which performs the tests of combinations of input style tags to arrive at a topic value.  
         [0125]    In another embodiment of the invention&#39;s translation process, the story&#39;s topic and other similar data element values are determined by the application of a set of tabulated rules to test the style tag combinations. In still another embodiment, the story&#39;s topic and other similar data element values are determined by programmed rules supported by a rule-based expert progranmming system, again applied to testing the style tag combinations. In all embodiments, making changes to the set of rules or program code is limited to changing simple tests and test combinations, and changing the actions that are determined by the results of those tests.  
         [0126]    Using the extracted data elements, filter program  131  stores the story in story table  401  in editorial database  400 . Filter program  131  also stores the story&#39;s author in author table  407 , any additional authors in multiple author table  412 , the press source in press table  408 , the kicker into kicker table  406 , the section into section table  404 , and the town into town table  409 . To provide audit access to input data elements used in its topic selection process, filter program  131  stores the data elements extracted from story file  123  in meta story table  402 . When filter program  131  has finished processing story files, the editorial database contains all stories created since the previous execution of the filter program. Filter program  131  then generates a new version of the just today view  403 , combines certain stories, marks duplicate stories as held so that they will not appear, and marks area brief stories and some sports stories as grouped for appearance in scrolling regions of Web pages. Filter program  131  then initiates execution of publish program  133 , and exits. Filter program  131  passes no data directly to publish program  133 .  
         [0127]    The Graphics Conversion Process  
         [0128]    To be published on the World Wide Web, image files must be converted into a common format. Refer again to FIG. 2. Conversion program  135  reads input graphics, including news photos, advertisements, and other visual display files  121 , determines the electronic file format of each file, converts the input file into a graphics file in a common format using commonly-understood methods, and stores the input file in a photo and graphic image library  142 . Publish program  133  links its published news pages  125  to files in graphic image library  142 . Editorial maintenance program  137  provides for a proofreader to link files in graphic image library  142  to published news pages  125  by creating references in editorial database  400  between stories and their respective graphics images.  
         [0129]    The Publish Process  
         [0130]    The publish program is started either by a message sent from the filter program, or by a command sent by a proofreader using an editorial maintenance program. The publish program retrieves stories from the editorial database and produces a set of linked news Web pages containing all the news stories within the range of dates displayable as current. Based on information extracted from the input story text files and stored in the database, the stories displayed on the news Website are arranged in an order that parallels closely the order of the appearance of the stories in the printed newspaper. The publish program stores the newly-produced news Web pages either on the publicly-accessible news Website or on a test news Website for use by the proofreader. The publicly-accessible news Website is updated once a day, or as often as required by changes in news input. The test news Website is updated as often as required by the proofreader.  
         [0131]    In general, a Web page resides on a server computer system on the World Wide Web. When a reader with a client computer system wants to read the Web page, the reader sends a command to the server system storing the Web page. The server system then sends the Web page to the reader&#39;s client system, where it is stored and displayed to the reader. Some Web pages are constructed with program components incorporated in them. Some Web page program components are marked to be processed on the server computer system, in order to update the Web page with current information available on the server computer systembefore sending the page to the client system. Other Web page program components are marked to be processed on the client computer system, in order to adapt the display to the requirements of the browser program and client computer system used by the reader, and to update the Web page with current information available on the client computer system. The Web pages created and supported by the present invention carry both server-processed and client-processed program components as required.  
         [0132]    As an overall example of this process, the program source code for a template may be a text file containing ordinary text, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) markup directives and program code, dynamic Web page markup directives and program code, and template directives. The template directives provide markers for the insertion, copying, or deletion oftext, HTML directives and program code, and dynamic Web page directives and program code in the Web page derived from the template. The publish program uses template directives to fill in the template with specific news information to be displayed to readers at the Website. The publish program then stores the filled-in template as a news Web page. This is the end of the publish program&#39;s task.  
         [0133]    The dynamic Web page directives, including program code, are processed by the news Web server when the filled-in template, now a news Web page in Active Server Page form, is prepared for transmission to the reader. The HTML directives, including program code, are processedbythe reader&#39;s client computer systemwhen the transmitted Web page is received there. The invention&#39;s use of templates permits fast, easy changes to dynamic Web page directives and code, and HTML directives and code, without modifying the publish program&#39;s program code. This provision for quick, simple changes allows significant variability in the appearance and behavior of the Web page as seen by the reader. This provision constitutes a significant advantage over other methods of Web page maintenance and improvement.  
         [0134]    Refer now to FIG. 11. Publish program  133  first reads a stored set of constant values  133   a  used in locating files and databases and specifying any other parameters and parameter values which may vary from one execution of publish program  133  to another execution at another time. Publish program  133  reads editorial database  400  and selects from story table  401  all stories which have not already been published and which are not marked to be held back from publication. For each story, program  133  also selects from topic table  405 , section table  404 , kicker table  406 , author table  407 , and press table  408  all information related to each story for each respective table. Program  133  uses the retrieved topic name of each story to select a type of template and create a story template copy  800 X for presentation of that story.  
         [0135]    Publish program  133  then begins expansion of template  800 X into a story news Web page  800 . Refer also to FIG. 7 for story news Web page details. First, program  133  installs navigation information in regions  801 ,  802 ,  810  of Web page  800 . Navigation information is a collection of URLs each of which provide the reader of the news Web page with a link to other news Web pages. See the previous sections of this specification titled Web Page Structure and Web Page Linkage for a detailed discussion of link content and arrangement.  
         [0136]    Publish program  133  then builds story content into Web page  800 , including kicker, topic, authors, press identification, story date, author photo, story photo  805   b , story photo caption  805   c,  storytext  805   a,  headline  805   d,  andlinks  805   e to related stories, as any or all may exist. Once this stage is complete, program  133  marks the story in story table  401  in editorial database  400  as published. This step completes the preparation of a story Web page from the story Web page template.  
         [0137]    In the next step, the publish program  133  builds the main Web page  500  from template  500 X. To provide navigation information for the reader to select a section of the news to read, publish program  133  places a list of all sections, with a link to the section Web page for each section, in the main Web page template  500 X in region  510 . Based on the display ordering information stored in editorial database  400  for each story, program  133  then selects the top stories from the current day for display on the main Web page  500 , and builds headings  505   d,    506   d,    507   d  containing URLs and partial story information  505   a,    506   a,    507   a  into main Web page  500  for each of the selected stories. Headings  505   d,    506   d,    507   d  contain URLs that point to the respective complete stories. In order to facilitate further reading for the top three selected stories, program  133  also incorporates URLs  505   e,    506   e  pointing to the story Web pages  800  holding the complete stories. Publish program  133  also installs in template  500 X any banner advertisements  503 ,  521  for display on main Web page  500 . For the top story, program  133  builds into main Web page  500  a caption  505   c  for the story&#39;s picture  505   b.    
         [0138]    For certain sections  508   c  of the news, program  133  selects top stories and appends their headlines  508   d  to the main Web page  500  in region  508 . In order to facilitate reading of the body of the story, program  133  incorporates a URL for each headline pointing to the story Web page.  
         [0139]    Certain stories are grouped for treatment as area news briefs on the main Web page  500 . Publish program  133  concatenates and edits stories in such a group into news briefs  530   a  with headlines  530   d  that incorporate hypertext links to the stories, in a single revolving text stream for display in a scrolling region  530  on the main Web page. This step completes the preparation of the main Web page  500  from the main Web page template  500 X.  
         [0140]    Next, for each section and topic, publish program  133  prepares section and topic Web pages  600  and  700 , using the section and topic Web page templates  600 X and  700 X respectively.  
         [0141]    In the next step, the publish program  133  builds the section Web page  600  from template  600 X. To provide navigation information for the reader to select a section of the news to read, publish program  133  places a list of all sections, with a link to the section Web page for each section, in region  602  of the section Web page template. Based on the display ordering information stored in editorial database  400  for each story, program  133  then selects the section&#39;s top stories from the current day for display on the section Web page  600 , and builds headings  605   d,    606   d,    607   d  containing story page URLs and partial story information  605   a,    606   a,    607   a  into the section Web page template  600 X for each of the selected stories. In order to facilitate further reading for the section&#39;s top three selected stories, program  133  also incorporates URLs  605   e,    606   e  pointing to the story Web pages holding the complete stories. Publish program  133  also installs in template  600 X any banner advertisements  603 ,  621 ,  622 ,  623  for display on the section Web page  600 . For the section&#39;s top story  605   a,  program  133  builds into template  600 X a caption  605   c  for the story&#39;s picture  605   b.    
         [0142]    In the next step, the publish program  133  builds the topic Web page  700  from template  700 X. To provide navigation information for the reader to select a section of the news to read, publish program  133  places a list of all sections, with a link to the section Web page for each section, in region  702  of the topic Web page  700 . Based on the display ordering information stored in editorial database  400  for each story, program  133  then orders the topic&#39;s top stories from the current day for display on the topic Web page  700 , and builds headlines  705   d  and partial story information  705   a  into the topic Web page template  700 X for all stories in the topic. In order to facilitate further reading for each one of the topic&#39;s stories, program  133  also incorporates in headline  705   d  a URL pointing to the story Web page holding the complete story. Publish program  133  also installs in template  700 X any banner advertisements  703  and  722  for display on the topic Web page  700 .  
         [0143]    As prepared by publish program  133 , a story may appear in multiple places at once. It may display in abbreviated formn on the main Web page  500 , a section Web page  600 , and a topic Web page  700 , and in complete form on its own story Web page  800 . Each story will appear at least on a topic Web page  700  in abbreviated form and on its own story Web page  800  in a complete form. Some stories will appear also on a section Web page  600 . A few stories will appear also on both a section Web page  600  and the main Web page  500 . The multiple appearances of a story simplify the reader&#39;s task in locating story details, regardless of the Web page currently being displayed to the reader.  
         [0144]    When publish program  133  has created a news Web page, it stores the newly-created Web page as a file in the collection of published news Web page files  125 .  
         [0145]    In the course of creating the news Web pages, publish program  133  also constructs and stores a set of headlines  180  for the main Web page, each section Web page, and each topic Web page. Set of headlines  180  is used in later processing by the news electronic mail program to inform subscribing users of selected news via electronic mail.  
         [0146]    The Editorial Maintenance Process  
         [0147]    To facilitate changes in each day&#39;s news presentation, the invention provides a Website interface for use by a proofreader. The interface is made up of a set of Web pages each of which provides the proofreader with a method of changing a specific set of data values in the editorial database, and of selecting and linking image files and their captions with the stories to which the images and captions apply. The invention also provides an offline protected Website to allow the proofreader to view any such changes as news Web pages before they are committed to the Website accessible to the general readership. The invention further provides a program which publishes the news to the generally-accessible Website or to the offline protected Website. The collection of these programs is called here the editorial maintenance program.  
         [0148]    Refer first to FIG. 12. for an overview of the editorial maintenance process. Editorial maintenance program  137  is made up of a set of independent maintenance Web pages. Each maintenance Web page provides proofreader  150  with a means of updating a specific set of values in editorial database  400 , or of initiating execution of publish program  133 . Among the values to be updated are the links from specific stories in the database to specific graphics files in photo and graphic image library  142 . Initiation of publish program  133  provides for either the creation of a set of news Web pages  125  to be displayed publicly for readers on news Web server  160 , or the creation of a set of test news Web pages  125 X to be stored on test Web server system  160 x. Creation of test news Web pages  125 X allows proofreader  150  to preview the results before making published news Web pages  125  available openly on news Web server  160 .  
         [0149]    Refer now to FIG. 13. Each of the set of maintenance Web pages  300  permits a proofreader  150  to modify the contents of one or more tables in editorial database  400 . The correspondence between maintenance Web pages and the table contents being updated is as follows.  
         [0150]    See FIG. 13 a.  The StrayStories maintenance Web page  301  displays a list of all the stories that did not meet the filter rule criteria. This page allows proofreader  150  to place the stories on the website by updating the section ID and topic ID combination and the Published flag in Story table  401 .  
         [0151]    See FIG. 13 b.  The Find maintenance Web page  302  displays a list of all the headlines and links to the stories in the offline protected Website or the generally-accessible Website for a given day, enabling the proofreader  150  to edit the stories in the editorials database. This page searches story table  401 .  
         [0152]    See FIG. 13 c.  The EditAuthor maintenance Web page  303  allows the proofreader  150  to update the AuthornDs, Maintenance flag, and Published flag in story table  401 , update the author information in author table  407 , inserting a new Author record if necessary, and update the author information in multiple authors table  412 , inserting a new multiple authors table record if necessary. This page is used to correct author(s) information specified for a story.  
         [0153]    See FIG. 13 d.  The EditPress maintenance Web page  304  allows proofreader  150  to update the Press, Maintenance flag, and Published flag in story table  401 , and update the press information in press table  408 , inserting a new press table record if necessary. This page is used to correct press(s) information specified for a story.  
         [0154]    See FIG. 13 e.  The EditStory maintenance Web page  305  allows proofreader  150  to update all fields in story table  401 . This page is used to correct information of any type in story table  401 .  
         [0155]    See FIG. 13 f  The TopicFinder maintenance Web page  306  displays a list of kickers that are not assigned to a location on the website. It lets proofreader  150  assign or not assign the kickers by updating SectionID/TopicID combination in the story table  401 , and by updating the TopicID and NoTopicAssigned flag in kicker table  406 .  
         [0156]    See FIG. 13 g.  The Headline maintenance Web page  307  allows proofreader  150  to add a headline to a story, or change a story&#39;s headline. It updates the Headline in story table  401 .  
         [0157]    See FIG. 13 h.  The StoryOrder rmaintenance Web page  308  allows proofreader  150  to place the stories on the section or topic Web pages in order of importance. It updates the StoryOrder and the Hold flag in story table  401 . The order in which stories appear on the pages of the Website is determined initially by the section and page in which the story appeared in the printed newspaper. This ordering is modified by the proofreader  150  using StoryOrder maintenance Web page  308 .  
         [0158]    See FIG. 13 i.  The ReplicateStory maintenance Web page  309  allows proofreader  150  to create multiple copies of a story. ReplicateStory maintenance Web page  309  assigns a new StoryNum value for the story copy, and then creates a copy of the story&#39;s records in story table  401 , meta story table  402 , and captions table  414 .  
         [0159]    See FIG. 13 j.  The MissingTopics maintenance Web page  310  displays a list of kickers assigned to topics that no longer exist. This page lets proofreader  150  assign a kicker to the correct topic. It updates the Topic in kicker table  406  and the Topic and Section in story table  401 .  
         [0160]    See FIG. 13 k.  The Published maintenance Web page  311  allows proofreader  150  to change the status of stories so they can be republished on the Website. It updates the Published flag in story table  401 .  
         [0161]    See FIG. 131. The AllKickers maintenance Web page  312  works as follows. Stories can be assigned to a topic, or location, on the website programmatically by applying the filter rules to each story or by using the kicker (bold underlined text above the story Web page). Maintenance Web page  312  allows proofreader  150  to add, change or eliminate the topic ID assigned to a kicker. The sectionid/topicid combination is used to place stories in the correct area of the website. It updates the&#39;s TopicID and NoTopicAssigned flag in kicker table  406 .  
         [0162]    See FIG. 13 m.  The SearchStory maintenance Web page  313  allows proofreader  150  to search for stories in editorial database  400 .  
         [0163]    See FIG. 13 n.  The AllTowns maintenance Web page  314  works as follows: Stories can be assigned to a topic, or location, on the website programmatically by applying the filter rules to each story or by using the dateline (first word, usually a town name in capital letters with a dash just before the story starts, EX: NEW YORK-It will . . . ). This maintenance page allows proofreader  150  to update the topic ID for a town. It updates the TopicID, NeighborhoodID, and NoTopicAssigned flag in town table  409 , and the NeighborhoodID and TopicID in neighborhood table  410 , inserting a new neighborhood table record if necessary.  
         [0164]    See FIG. 13 o.  The EditKeywords maintenance Web page  315  works as follows: Keyword combinations are also used in the assignment of stories to topics, or locations, on the Website. This maintenance Web page is used by proofreader  150  to update the Website placement (by topic) of stories containing those keywords. This page updates the TopicID and List in keyword table  413 , and SplitStory in topic table  405 .  
         [0165]    See FIG. 13 p.  The AppendStory maintenance Web page  316  allows proofreader  150  to append a story to the end of another story. It updates the Story, Published flag and Hold flag in story table  401 .  
         [0166]    See FIG. 13 q.  The RemoteRun maintenance Web page  317  allows proofreader  150  to start execution of filter program  131  and/or publish program  133 .  
         [0167]    See FIG. 13 r.  The EdPicStory and Pictures maintenance Web pages  318  and  319  respectively allow proofreader  150  to associate one or more images in photo and graphic image library  142  with a specific story in editorial database  400 . It updates the PhotoFileName for captions and PhotoCaption for stories in story table  401 , and Story_PubDate and Story_StoryNum in captions table  414 . The captions table allows for accessing the story table  401  to find the stories associated with the captions.  
         [0168]    See FIG. 13 s.  The EditOnAir maintenance Web pages  320  allows proofreader to switch the assignment of On-Air and Sports Today stories between each other.  
         [0169]    The Editorial Archive Process  
         [0170]    Refer now to FIG. 14. Editorial archival program  139  reads story table  401  in the editorial database  400 , retrieves all stories for which the story&#39;s latest display date has passed, moves the Web&#39;pages for all such stories to an archive of news files  144 , marks as archived all such stories in story table  401  in editorial database  400 , and replaces the archived stories with redirect Web pages  126  displaying redirection instructions to an outside News Library source.  
         [0171]    The Classified Maintenance Process  
         [0172]    Refer to FIG. 15. Classified raw data preparation program  136  reads external files  147  of classified advertisements, converts the advertisements into a common format, and writes the advertisements into classified data import files  148 . Classified advertisement import program  138  reads classified data import files  148 , and updates classified table  421 , class_help_wanted table  422 , help wanted_keyword table  423 , active_classnum table  424 , and email_link table  425  in classified database  420 . In the course of updating classified table  421 , classified advertisement import program  138  scans the text of each classified advertisement to find URLs (links) and electronic mail addresses, and converts each such link or address found into a common format for display on a Web page. This display allows a prospective buyer to obtain more information about an advertised item simply by displaying the linked Web page.  
         [0173]    The Death Notices Maintenance Process  
         [0174]    Refer to FIG. 16. Death raw data preparation program  132  reads externals files  127  of death notifications, converts the notifications into a common format, and writes the notifications into death notice import files  128 . Death notice import program  134  reads death notice import files  128  and obituary stories from the story table  401  in editorial database  400 , and updates death table  441  in deaths database  440 . New death information is added to death table  441 , while death information updating existing entries in death table  441  is applied to the existing entries.  
         [0175]    The Electronic Mail Maintenance Process  
         [0176]    Refer to FIG. 17. Administrator  151  manages an electronic mail users database  460  via Web pages  352 , which provide for surveying the list of subscribers and deleting subscriber records. Administrator  151  also maintains three sets of Web pages to be mailed to subscribers: a contests Web page  173 , maintained via Web page  353 , an announcements Web page  174 , maintained via Web page  354 , and a weather Web page  175 , maintained via Web page  355 . Administrator  151  also uses a set of statistics Web pages  171  to review statistics concerning electronic mail users and their selections of news topics. Statistics program  351  combines the set of topics from topic table  405  in editorial database  400  with subscriber preferences stored in electronic mail users database  460  to create its statistics for administrator use.  
         [0177]    The electronic mail subscriber controls his or her own subscription through Web access to a separate Website, which maintains the electronic mail address and the news selections specified by each user in the electronic mail users database  460 .  
         [0178]    The Electronic Mail News Delivery Process  
         [0179]    Refer to FIG. 18. News electronic mail program  358  reads contest Web pages  173 , announcement Web pages  174 , weather Web pages  175 , and all current day headline information  180  created for electronic mail use by publish program  133 . News electronic mail program  358  then reads the list of electronic mail subscribers stored in electronic mail users database  460 , generates news electronic mail messages  178  for each user, and mails the messages out to the users  3  via the World Wide Web  40 .  
       CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE OF INVENTION  
       [0180]    From the above descriptions, figures and narratives, the invention&#39;s advantages in presenting news on the World Wide Web should be clear. The economy and accuracy of the invention&#39;s automated system reduces significantly the burden required to convert print-media news documents into a well-organized and richly-interconnected set of news Web pages.  
         [0181]    Although the description, operation and illustrative material above contain many specificities, these specificities should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations and examples of some of the preferred embodiments of this invention.  
         [0182]    Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given above.