The Austin American-Statesman today announced the launch of the Statesman Live app, a product of the Austin American-Statesman news organization. The free mobile app puts users in control of the news they want to read, save and share by offering personalization and real-time news via push notifications and alerts via an intuitive and visually engaging graphical user interface.

“We’re very excited about the launch of Statesman Live. This locally developed mobile app delivers real time news in a sleek, visual design and provides a level of personalization and notification that we think Austinites are really going to enjoy,” said Ann Poe, Vice President of Marketing and Audience, Statesman Media.

The Statesman Live personalization features allow users to choose which categories populate into their news feed by selecting or de-selecting desired content. The app also takes advantage of interactive push notifications, a new feature of iOS8, which sends actionable alerts for breaking news. Users can also set preferences to receive more selective, focused news alerts on key topics. Users have the ability to save a story for later reading as well as share news stories with friends and submit a news tip or an idea for the app. The app’s modern design features color-coded content categories and full-screen viewing of photos and videos, and gives users the power to swipe between self-selected articles with a finger, as well as re-size content by pinching and zooming

For advertisers, the Statesman Live app offers sponsorship opportunities with two mobile ad sizes and topic-specific dynamic ad placement.

The innovative app built by local Austin tech agency, Mutual Mobile, in conjunction with Cox Media Group, utilizes different platforms to achieve the personalized, custom experience. The app runs on an augmented version of the CMGt API, leverages Urban Airship’s latest SDK for topic-based notifications, and Janrain is used to facilitate a logged-in state by which a user can save and access a personalized collection of stories at a later time.

“When you think about the newspaper and the control people have, it’s very powerful. People get to decide what sections to hold onto and which to discard based on their personal preferences,” said Brooks Rhinehart, Senior Account Director at Mutual Mobile. “We are thrilled to partner on the Statesman Live app to carry over this level of control and customization for users in the mobile space.”

About Statesman Media

Statesman Media is the leading source for news, entertainment, shopping and information, as well as advertising solutions in Central Texas. The Statesman Media family of brands includes the Austin American-Statesman; six community newspapers; Austin360, the entertainment publication; and ¡ahora sí!, the Spanish-language publication. Statesman Media also owns and operates the Statesman Capitol 10,000, the largest and oldest 10K race in Texas, and Rock the Lot, a 2-day concert event hosted on the company’s downtown Austin property during SXSW. The publications reach more than 638,000 readers each week, while digital platforms account for more than 4.8 million visitors who access more than 23.5 million pages each month. These digital editions are available for smartphone, laptop/PC and tablet. The diverse multimedia company also includes commercial printing, packaging and delivery services. Statesman Media is part of Cox Media Group.

About Cox Media Group

Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps. Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America’s leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings. The company’s operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 57 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 30 million TV viewers, more than 3.5 million print and online newspaper readers, and more than 14 million radio listeners. For more information, visit coxmediagroup.com.

About Mutual Mobile

Mutual Mobile is an emerging tech agency that builds breakthrough products for a more connected world. By finding the sweet spot between technologies, people, and brands, Mutual Mobile unleashes previously impossible value. For more information, visit mutualmobile.com.

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