Khrono's Global Ambitions: There is no one like us
Explore how Khrono.no, a niche publication for higher education news, transformed from a small startup to a platform with global ambitions supported by Labrador CMS
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Khrono.no, an independent online newspaper focused on higher education and research, has witnessed remarkable growth since its launch in 2013. The key to this success, according to Editor in Chief and Publisher Tove Lie, lies in a combination of editorial excellence and the use of the Labrador CMS.
With a background spanning over 30 years in the media industry, Tove has guided Khrono from a small startup to a successful publication with 17 employees, over 17,000 subscribers, and 13 million annual views.
This growth story is partially enabled by their CMS platform, but Tove also confidently adds:
“I like to think that I am a good editor and that we have good employees, and that we are growing it ourselves with our cases and stories we're making. But it has been easy to use Labrador, when we started to use Labrador we became more efficient and it integrates well with everything we need.”
When we started to use Labrador we became more efficient and it integrates well with everything we need.'
Tove Lie, Editor in Chief and Publisher at Khrono.no
A Global Mission started Locally
Tove started Khrono.no from scratch. “We had nothing at all,” - she recalls, speaking of the early days.
“Already back then l I heard a lot of nice things about Labrador CMS, and I wanted Labrador, but back then in 2013 it was not possible. We became a customer as soon as the opportunity for that appeared.”
Today, Khrono.no serves as a niche publication for higher education news, both in Norway and internationally. - “There is no one like us,” - Tove proudly states, noting the unique position Khrono holds in covering this sector.
“Maybe Times Higher Education is about the same, but it's not. We saw that when we started the first time in 2013, that there were no newspapers in Norway writing about higher education and research. There was a niche there, we took it and now we are having reporters in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Brussels.”
Khrono has set its sights on a more expansive mission.
“We also make international news for higher education and research, so we have big ambitions to be first: local Khrono, then national Khrono, then Khrono Europe and Khrono Global in some years,” Tove explains.
We also make international news for higher education and research, so we have big ambitions to be first: local Khrono, then national Khrono, then Khrono Europe and Khrono Global in some years.
Tove Lie, Editor in Chief and Publisher at Khrono.no
How Labrador CMS Became an Integral Tool for Growth
Tove starts by stating that this is a content management system platform made specially for newspapers and media sites.
“That’s what we like about them. We wanted to be a real newspaper, and news and breaking news are important for us.”
She continues: “We were very small when we started with Labrador. We were only three people, now we are 17.”
She emphasizes that the CMS helped the team become “much more effective” and allowed them to “ produce faster.”
Tove explains further that reporters write directly in the CMS, seeing exactly how their articles will appear to readers as they edit text and images simultaneously. This real-time editing capability, combined with an intuitive interface, has been essential for the newsroom.
Tove attributes much of this efficiency to Labrador’s user-friendly design.
“It had to be fast and easy to use,” - she says, describing how the system’s drag-and-drop functionality and dual desktop-mobile view have streamlined the editorial process.
“You can fix the titles and pictures and know exactly how they will look in the real world at once,” - she adds.
Despite her enthusiasm, Tove admits - “Sounds like I am paid to say this, I know, it does. But we are very satisfied.”
A Collaborative Future with Labrador CMS
Khrono.no is now exploring new functionalities, such as the Labrador News Studio, which features AI capabilities for breaking and short stories. This is just one of many Labrador CMS's AI functionalities.
Tove expresses excitement for this innovation, saying: “We are happy that we have a place now for our breaking stories and our short stories.”
Tove expands on the collaboration with the team behind Labrador CMS appreciating its willingness to take on the challenge and explore suggested developments by its customers. She also highlights the collaborative nature of working with Labrador CMS, being an online content management system used by many smaller or large newspapers and digital publication.
Looking ahead, Tove sees a strong future for both Khrono and Labrador.
“Khrono is growing, Labrador is growing. I think we're going to stay a little bit more with Labrador,” - she concludes with confidence.
Core Benefits of Labrador CMS
For Tove, some aspects of Labrador CMS particularly stand out. The first is its “ease of use,” something that she mentions multiple times, with an intuitive editor that allows real-time text and image editing for both desktop and mobile in one view. Then there is the system's simplicity ensuring that - “journalists and new employees can learn it in a matter of 15 minutes,” - enabling them to create stories directly in the CMS platform with minimal training.
