Introducing the new PRI.org

Today, we are launching a refocused and redesigned PRI.org and making it the new online home for coverage by PRI’s The World. If you liked TheWorld.org and the old PRI.org, we think you’ll really enjoy the new site.

You’ll find changes on just about every front – from more stories updated throughout the day to easy access on your phone or tablet, from bigger photos and graphics to more ways to follow and partner in our coverage.

We made our site faster, easier to use, more social and more engaging. And we focused tightly on PRI’s strength – telling stories through many voices that connect you to global events, issues and cultures. Here’s a quick tour of what’s new. 

At the top of every page, you’ll find the PRI bar with buttons that get you where you want to go fast, whether to listen to the latest edition of PRI’s The World or search for a story. And the bar stays at the top of the screen even as you scroll. Hit the menu button (three horizontal lines) and you’ll see shortcuts to find stories by topic, visit our new communities, contact us, follow us on social media, and more. 

Our homepage gives a snapshot of what’s most relevant in the world and around our site at any moment. In our version of “Hollywood Squares,” we feature stories, blogs, videos, and graphics from us and contributions from people like you. The “Global Buzz” box highlights conversations about stories and in our communities. Red circles in the corner of a box show how often people have shared the story. Green exclamation points mark boxes where you can contribute to our coverage, and you’ll see more of those as time goes on. At the very bottom of the homepage, you can scan all of our stories from now backwards in time.

Our story pages, beyond having the larger photos and a much faster start to audio, are now more social. On the right, you’ll find a colorful bar that stays with you as you scroll. The top square shows the number of times a story has been shared. Clicking on the other squares lets you quickly share the story on Facebook, Twitter, or through other networks and email (tap the green square on the bottom for more options.)

We are also expanding our coverage. We’ll have more stories from PRI programs, like The Takeaway and Living on Earth, and from new partners, like Global Voices Online, New America Media, NOVA Next and Science Friday. We plan to include more partners over time. And you’ll increasingly find stories with videos, infographics, slideshows and maps.

The new PRI.org is home to our growing communities – Global Nation and Human Needs. In Global Nation, we tell stories about the immigrant experience in the US and invite people to discuss America’s changing identity. Today, we are introducing Human Needs, where we explore efforts around the world to deliver basic health, wealth and education to all and we invite people to share their experience and knowledge. We’ll ask you to consider intriguing facts, questions and views at the top of these pages, we’ll offer stories that provide context, and then invite you to weigh in with others on the subject. We aim to grow Global Nation and Human Needs into places for smart discussion and insights on the most pressing social issues of our times.

For the first time, we’ll also be inviting you to log into our site directly or using your login on Twitter, Facebook, Google or LinkedIn. Our aim isn’t to sell you anything, but to make your experience better. We won’t be allowing anonymous comments in our discussions anymore. And logging in will help us personalize your experience and give you the chance to receive story updates or our new daily newsletter sharing the stories we’re tracking. Our privacy policy is clear: we promise we won’t spam you or sell your information to marketers.

Finally, you’ll be able to get information about PRI and any of PRI’s programs from the main menu or the links at the bottom of every page. It’s all there, organized and easy to find. At least we think so, but you tell us.

With a change this big and a newly-constructed site, we expect to find a lot of digital dust in the corners – problems we didn’t expect – and we need your help in finding them and fine-tuning the site.

Tell us what you think. Tell us about links that don’t work, pages that don’t look right on your phone, and stories that you feel miss the mark. You’ll find surveys and “contact us” buttons throughout the site. We promise we’ll listen, respond and adjust as fast as we can.

Our site’s new tagline is “It’s your world. Jump in.” We believe that. And we need your partnership to make PRI.org a place where we are inspired to engage with the world and each other. We look forward to hearing from you.