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Wijeya Newspapers broke new ground in Sri Lanka yesterday as they launched the first ever Breaking News Application (Apps). Wijeya Newspapers, Sri Lanka’s largest newspaper circulation group launched News Apps for two of their top publications - the Daily Mirror and Daily Lankadeepa, whilst also launching Web 2.0. e-Papers for the Sunday Times and Sunday Lankadeepa. Staying on top of digital trends the launch of the Breaking News apps and e-papers by Wijeya Newspapers comes at an apt time.

Keeping in line with the holistic theme of the launch, the event was designed and organized by Arc Worldwide Sri Lanka along with their development partner Shift Solutions, with technical support provided by Runeware Integrated - showcasing the very best of digital media. The innovative video mapping sequence incorporated a live product demo and for the first time in Sri Lanka, a logo –the Daily Mirror Mast head, was used to trigger an Augmented Reality (AR) experience. Championing change in the ever-dynamic media industry it was a truly memorable evening for Sri Lanka.

Gehan Blok Digital Media Manager	Umair Wolid Marketing Manager-Web

Commenting on the launch, Sujan Wijewardena, Director, Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. stated, “Digital media is in the spotlight – and as one of the biggest media houses in the country, we felt we should champion this change. While contemplating this, the idea to move into News Apps came through after analyzing the monthly traffic rankings of the Daily Mirror’s website, which indicated that the usage of smart devices to log onto the site were quite significant – especially the iPad , iPhone and Android devices. After much careful consideration we first built the Daily Mirror Breaking News app for the IOS and Android systems, which has proven to be very successfully with over 10,000 downloads within 4 weeks. Lankadeepa’s Breaking News app is the first-ever Sinhala language-based application. We deemed it crucial for us to be able to reach every single one of our readers, including those residing overseas.”

“Wijeya is known for being the first in many things. In 1979 we set up the first web offset printing press in Sri Lanka to print our weekly publications. We also published the worlds’ first Sinhala newspaper website in 1995. In 2005 and 2006 we launched the first e-Paper and first breaking-news website, respectively. Therefore, today’s launch of the Breaking News apps and e-Papers also proves that we are the first to embrace digital media and be the forerunner in the industry,” said Lal Jayawardena, Director, Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.

The newly launched Breaking News apps can be downloaded onto iPhones, iPads and Android devices. The applications will automatically update Breaking News 24/7 – and also allows you to read other stories from the respective publication’s websites, watch videos and even share stories via email, Twitter or Facebook.

The e-Paper, a subscribed online version of a newspaper could be configured to be read on any device at anytime, on an online or downloaded version. The e-Paper is also ‘‘visually impaired friendly’’. The e-Paper can be accessed via Press-Reader which is downloadable on Android, Blackberry, IPhone/IPads, HoneyComb and Windows.

Wijeya newspapers is well known for their innovative breakthroughs to ensure that the news is available to everyone at any given time.  Following the launch of the first ever Braille newspaper in Sri Lanka a few weeks ago, the Breaking News apps and e- Papers, are a truly revolutionary step forward for Sri Lanka to bring the latest in news to you.