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News on demand is the future, says Brighton Evening Argus editor Simon Bradshaw.

Writing for the Newspaper Society's latest New Media update, Mr Bradshaw says newspapers like his are uniquely placed to capitalize on the developments in new media, which he describes as like "a breath of fresh air".

Electronic publishing makes print deadlines irrelevant, he says. Material doesn't have to be cut to fit space. There is no need for fillers to pad out slow days.

Electronic publishing is fast.

He added: "If a story breaks an hour after the final daily deadline it can still be published in minutes. And good material can still be around on the web long after newspaper pages are blowing around the dump."

But he warns that a different attitude is needed to online new content. What works in print doesn't work online.

People don't settle down to read a website, they want to find what they want instantly.

At the Argus, when big stories break they're on the web immediately, with pictures, and updated as they develop by the minute.

An internet content editor, or web producer, called Nigel Davies-Patrick looks after This is Brighton & Hove.

As an example of how the integration between the newsroom and the website works, Mr Bradshaw cited the recent floods:

"When the first people made it in to work, all anybody knew was that a lot of roads were closed after heavy rain. So that's the story that went on the web straight away.

"The scale of the disaster slowly became clear. Later workers were held up in traffic. That went on the web. At first a few paragraphs with the promise of more soon. Then more as it became available. Parts of Brighton, it emerged, were badly flooded. The sun rose on roads that had turned to lakes and vehicles that had been half submerged. Reports started filtering in from the outlying district offices. Soon the first pictures started arriving, thanks to photographers with digital cameras. And they were online, just like that.

"What quickly became clear was the effect all this was going to have on newspaper distribution. Deadlines were brought forward. Staff made it in late. The newspaper packed what it could into what pages it could change, then started preparing for the next morning's edition.

"That's when the internet operation came into its own. Information dates, but online that's not a problem. You just re-edit and update. As traffic information came in, it went online. By mid-morning the website had the big round-up, properly editionised reports for all four regions, flood warning information from the Environment Agency and three pages of dramatic pictures.

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