Cecil County residents now have yet another way to stay informed about local breaking news and sports stories.
The Cecil Whig launched a free mobile alert system this week that allows readers to sign up to get news and sports scores sent directly to their cellphones.
Readers can choose to sign up for news alerts, sports alerts or both.
“This is just one more way that we can keep our readers informed,” Executive Editor Jacob Owens said. “Thousands of Cecil County residents already get their news from the paper, our website and through our social media accounts. This is yet another method for people to stay up-to-date while on the go.”
To sign up, text “WhigNews” or “WhigSports” to 96362. Within a few minutes, you’ll receive a confirmation message. Then, whenever news breaks, you’ll receive an alert.
The alerts are free and work on any phone that supports text messaging; however, standard messaging rates charged by cell phone providers will still apply.
Digital Editor Josh Shannon explained that the alerts will be used primarily in breaking news situations when it’s important to get information out to the public quickly.
“Good examples would be when an accident closes a major road, when police release a description of a bank robber or when there’s severe weather headed toward our area.” Shannon said, noting that he expects the alerts to be sent no more than three to five times per week. “We promise that we’re not going to inundate our readers’ inboxes.”
The sports alerts will be sent to report the score of a big game or announce other news of note, such as a team advancing in the playoffs or a coach retiring, Sports Editor Chuck Ristano said.
“The ability to disseminate this information instantly to our readers is extremely exciting and beneficial, especially with the postseason now upon us,” Ristano said.
Shannon encouraged anyone with questions about the alert system to contact him at 443-245-5039 or jshannon@cecilwhig.com
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.