Welcome to nzdoctor.co.nz, the website of New Zealand Doctor newspaper

My name is Barbara Fountain. I am the editor of New Zealand Doctor and I'd like to explain a bit about what we are trying to provide with the nzdoctor.co.nz website. I've drawn up a few questions and answers to help.

What is nzdoctor.co.nz?

nzdoctor.co.nz is the online counterpart of fortnightly medical newspaper New Zealand Doctor. Like the print publication, nzdoctor.co.nz provides news, comment and advertising space for general practice and the wider primary care community.

As a news website, nzdoctor.co.nz publishes daily news stories and updates, blogs from sector commentators, and a daily email newsletter Doctor@Large. The website has been operating in a variety of guises since 1995. It had a major revamp in early 2010.

Where do you get your news from?

News for both online and print is written by New Zealand Doctor and regular contributors.

Each day we aim to have at least one key daily news story, generally the story illustrated on the home page, and a handful of what we call "cheekys".

What is a cheeky?

A cheeky news story is generally a briefer news article - maybe only three or four sentences − which may have as its sole source a media release.

Where a reporter judges that the news contained in a media release alone is of interest to our readers, a cheeky is written to further highlight the news item.

Alternatively, we might read something in another publication and think they've done a good job of covering an issue so we highlight this for our readers with a link, where possible, to the original story.

We're not laying claim to any additional news reporting in either case.

So is your news content in summary or in depth?

It's both. With the key daily news story we try to be as in depth as resources allow. Cheekys are by nature briefer, but sometimes longer - we don't call them cheeky for nothing.

But sometimes when we catch a snippet of news, for example, plans to make a major announcement on health policy, we will publish a brief story online in the hope of getting more details later for the print publication.

We publish all our print news stories the Print Archives after the newspaper is published.

Do online news stories change?

Yes, as a news event develops we will update the news story online. An entirely new news story might be posted or an older story updated with changes made clear.

And, sometimes, if additional details about a story arrive after the story is published online, the reporter might make mention in a comment to the story.

Other times we might wait and do a more detailed story in print. It often depends on who is available to update stories online.

What happens if you make a mistake?

We like to know if we have made a mistake and will then correct it as soon as possible. We note at the start of the news article that a change has been made and also publish that change under the "Oops" button on the home page.

Do the online news stories also appear in print?

This depends on a number of factors. Sometimes, if a story is relatively fast moving we will cover it online and then maybe only print a brief in the paper, directing readers back to the online coverage.

Other times the story may develop significantly so a more in depth article is written for the print edition.

Due to space constraints there are stories that may only appear online and not in print.

What is Un-Doctored? Can I trust it?

Un-Doctored is an archive of media releases from the health sector.

Organisations send out media releases to media outlets when they want publicity for an issue or have an announcement to make. At nzdoctor.co.nz we are on the email list for a number of organisations and receive their media releases regularly. Other media releases we might spot on the internet.

Media releases published on Un-Doctored are just that - undoctored. We edit them for style and remove logos but do not change the body of the release.

We don't publish every media release that comes our way.

What other news do you publish?

Every weekday we search the internet for news stories and items of interest to our readers and post links to these under "That's Interesting".

Any new reports of interest to the sector are published in the Reports Archive.

And what about comment?

We publish regular comment from our bloggers and readers are able to comment on these and all the news stories that appear on our site.

It is easy to see who's been commenting by reading our Comment Stream.

Anything else?

Yes, we have lots more - podcasts, video, useful links and free and professional advertising.

But what if I'm not a subscriber?

Well, sorry, many of the benefits of this site will be closed off to you. We are keen that the people who pay for New Zealand Doctor get the benefit of access to the website.

You will be able to click through to one news story but after that you will be asked for a login.

But you will be able to read UnDoctored, PEARLS, That's Interesting and the Classified Ads.

What about Doctor@Large

Doctor@Large is our daily email newsletter. It provides a round up of the items appearing on the website each day. Anyone can subscribe to Doctor@Large but, again, subscribers will get the full benefit of clicking through.

How often is the site updated?

The site is updated several times daily throughout the working week.

We don't generally post updates on the weekend unless we providing news coverage for a conference. And we take a break over Christmas.

That's about it - what if I have any more questions?

We appreciate any and all feedback you have - particularly if you have any problems with the website. Please contact me at editor@nzdoctor.co.nz