For Immediate Release
January 3, 2010
Media Contact:
Marjorie Maas
office: 402.991.1560
marjorie (at) palettepromotions.com
Executive Editor:
Summer Miller
mobile: 402.960.6464
editor (at) metroneighborhoodnews.com
This week will mark the beginning of a micro-community revolution. Churches, schools, organizations, businesses and individual community members will now have the opportunity to read information specific to their own neighborhoods.
Neighborhood News is a micro-local publication with 11 different editions mailed directly to more than 250,000 homes targeting the first week of the month, with weekly updated content available online. The print edition is supplemented by a vibrant online community where you will find event listings, community resources and neighborhood listings as well as stories, news and information about one’s neighborhood. Pioneer Publishing has partnered with neighborhood grocer, Hy-Vee, and the Neighborhood Center to bring Omaha, Gretna, Bellevue, LaVista, Ralston and Papillion’s neighborhoods local coverage that counts.
The format of the stories shows an evolution in print media. Content is generated by neighborhood residents FOR neighborhood residents. The stories are “blog” size; most are no more than 300-400 words with specific sections having 180-250 word stories. Also, the content focuses on the positive, on the great stories of a neighborhood’s life and people, such as volunteerism, youth accomplishment and improvement projects.
Fast Facts:
- “Micro-local reporting” means news generated within an immediate vicinity rather than the entire community or region.
- The Neighborhood News’ workforce fully telecommutes.
- Editors and reporters live within the neighborhoods they manage and cover.
- Editorial staff review photos submitted by the public for print and online use.
- Phase 2 (second quarter 2010) includes a user-friendly means of the public submitting written content online.
Neighborhood breakdown:
- Midtown/Downtown
- Millard
- Uptown
- North Central
- Peony
- South Central
- South Omaha
- West Omaha
- Southwest
- Northwest
- South Sarpy
About Pioneer Publishing
Pioneer Publishing specializes in targeted market publications. The company’s oldest publication, The Reader, is the longest-running alternative newsweekly published in the Omaha area and the first weekly publication since the Omaha Sun ended its run in 1983. The Reader targets active professionals seeking watchdog journalism and information about Omaha’s budding art and entertainment scene. El Perico, Omaha’s only bilingual newspaper, provides relevant coverage in Spanish and English to the city’s new and established immigrant population. Neighborhood News, as the name implies, will meet the needs of the metro area’s neighborhoods.
About Neighborhood Center
The Neighborhood Center (NC) is a community-based, neighborhood driven organization. The NC provides information and assistance to neighborhood associations enabling them to develop leadership and communication structures to address the issues affecting the quality of life in their neighborhoods including housing, safety, health, crime, and economic development issues. The NC works directly with residents in the tri-county area, including those who are members of neighborhood associations, homeowners associations, business associations, coalitions, community development corporations, churches, and other not-for-profit groups.
About Hy-Vee
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating 227 retail stores in seven Midwestern states. For 2008, the company recorded total sales of $6.2 billion, ranking it among the top 30 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Supermarket News, the authoritative voice of the food industry, honored the company with the 2008 Whole Health Enterprise Award for its leadership in providing services and programs that promote a healthy lifestyle.
