Subscribers to Michigan Today’s new monthly newsletter can read the latest news of interest to the University community, hear U-M poets reading their works, learn about word origins and revisit classic movies with a University film scholar as their guide.

NewsE, which is distributed through e-mail, is an extension of the print publication, Michigan Today. The only University publication designed for all U-M alumni, Michigan Today has a mailing list of almost 400,000.

NewsE features a selection of University news releases, as well as stories written specifically for the newsletter, a Web site of the month and a book review. It also includes works, including audio clips, by U-M composers, musicians, artists and writers.

“NewsE appears to be a unique online university newsletter,” says Nancy Connell, director of the News Service, which publishes Michigan Today. “Most university newsletters are simply a compilation of press releases.”

The third installment of the NewsE will be sent to subscribers in mid-October. John Woodford, executive editor of Michigan Today, encourages users to offer feedback about the kind of content they would like to see in the newsletter.

“We’re trying to explore the potential of the medium as we go along,” Woodford says. “We want it to be really fresh and to convey the dynamism of the University.”

Professor Richard Bailey of the Department of English Language and Literature is writing a monthly column discussing word origins, such as the history of the words Michigander and Michiganian in the September issue of NewsE. Frank Beaver, professor of communication studies and of film and video studies, will write a film column. In the October issue, Woodford says, Beaver will write about “The Great Train Robbery,” which was released 100 years ago.

Woodford encourages people in the University community to submit ideas for the Web site of the month. He also will consider art, photography and music by U-M faculty, staff and students, he says.

Lenny Zenith, the Web resources manager at the News Service, designs and provides technical support for the NewsE.

The NewsE is a way to reach alumni, friends and the campus community more frequently and with more information, Connell says. That is especially important because budgetary pressures have reduced the print publication of Michigan Today from three times to twice a year, she says.

Starting this winter, one edition of the full Michigan Today editorial content will be published only online, while the tabloid will continue to be published in print in the spring and fall.

NewsE is being sent only to those who sign up for it voluntarily. To subscribe, visit http://www.umich.edu/NewsE and click on the Sign Up Today button. To submit feedback, e-mail johnwood@umich.edu To view the September edition of the NewsE, visit http://www.umich.edu/news/MT/NewsE/091503/ .