FRANKLIN—To better meet the needs of an increasingly mobile community, The Tidewater News announced Friday the launch of its new mobile Web site, designed for viewing on smart phones such as BlackBerrys and iPhones.

The new site can be accessed at m.thetidewaternews.com.

Steve Stewart, the publisher and president of The Tidewater News said that the new mobile site will make accessing content from the paper more convenient for today’s busy readers.

“Our readers increasingly are using their BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs to access the Internet and to get a quick summary of the news,” he said. “We hope our new mobile site serves the on-the-go reader. It is in keeping with our strategy of delivering community news on a number of platforms in order to suit the preferences of every reader.”

Unlike the regular Web site, (www.thetidewaternews.com), readers on the mobile site will not be able to post comments. However, they will be able to read previously posted comments.

The mobile news audience is relatively small when compared with the print or regular Web audience, but it is predicted that the mobile audience will grow very quickly over the coming years.

In addition to the new mobile site, (m.thetidewaternews.com), and the regular Web site, (www.thetidewaternews.com), The Tidewater News also has a photo community site called Tidewater Views. It can be accessed at www.tidewaterviews.com or through The Tidewater News Web site.