Long ago, there was a time when a hardcopy newspaper was one’s only way to get the news. This lone distribution channel has grown exponentially through the addition of the radio, television, and finally, the Internet.

The contribution that the Internet has made to the distribution of news is not limited to websites. Rather, it has created a seemingly endless amount of outlets when it comes to how people consume news. This gives Internet users the ability to take their publication of choice, and receive their news from it, in a countless number of ways.

Take, for example, the New York Times. One of the most widely read news publications in the country, the NYT owes at least some of its success to the sheer number of distribution channels it offers.

The publication’s website is constantly updated to offer the bulk of the content of each day’s National paper. Like many other publications, the NYT is also available via RSS feed, Podcasts, Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. But this is only the beginning.

The rise of email is just one example. The NYT online offers a mailing list, in which users receive emails with “Today’s Headlines” each morning. The content of these is made available in either a text only or graphics (HTML) format.

With smart phones all the rage, the NYT has responded with the NYTimes mobile Web site, which can be accessed through a smart phone’s Web browser. In addition, programs have been developed for certain specific devices, like the Blackberry, Android, and Palm Pre. These are advertised to optimize content viewing, even more so than the mobile site.

Times Reader 2.0

About a year ago, the NYT introduced Times Reader 2.0, which they describe as “a downloadable software application offering a digital experience of The Times that’s very much like reading the printed newspaper.” The software, powered by Adobe AIR, is available to those using Windows, Mac OS, or even Linux and “…gives you everything you’d expect from the New York Times in print, delivered to your computer in less than a minute.”

Another application, specially made for newspaper lovers, is Times Skimmer. Unlike Times Reader, this is browser based, and “provides the experience of spreading out a newspaper and paging through it.”

Times Skimmer

Most recently, they have come out with the NYTimes Editors’ Choice application, specifically designed for Apple’s new Ipad.

Users can choose to use any…or even all of these channels. Personally, I access the NYT from my Blackberry, on Twitter, via RSS, and by picking up a good, old fashioned paper. In the end, times change and preferences vary, but whether you choose a paper or an Ipad, the advancement of the internet, coupled with publications like the New York Times, will continue moving us forward into the future.