When I first switched from the newsroom to the web newsroom, I was surprised by all the technical constraints.

As a reporter and editor I had all the tools I needed – it was up to me to create something fit for the front page. As a web editor, content management systems and development priorities became constraints on my ability to publish the news.

With the hope of helping publishers chip away at these constraint, we’re releasing a new mapping tool today. Meet Atlas: www.fmatlas.com.

Atlas is a simple web application that allows you to put Google Maps into your stories in a few seconds.

Certainly there are already mapping tools out there. Atlas distinguishes itself in two ways:

First, it is simple: Point. Click. Map. No messy code, no unnecessary hoops to jump through.

Second, Atlas is designed for news sites. We’re building it so that reporters, editors, producers and local bloggers have an easy way to add maps to their stories.

This first release of Atlas has a very basic list of features. You can:

• Create a simple Google map in a few seconds
• Embed a map on your page in any size or format
• Use a CSV format to upload batches of points
• Add Wikipedia content to major cities

There’s lots more we want to add, but before going any further, we want to get your feedback. So, try it out, let us know what works, what doesn’t and what we should add.