Sunday, March 30, 2008
Our new 'Your Community' page relies on you
Beginning today, Page 2 of this section bears the label of "Your Community." It's the result of our recent reassessment of community news -- what it is and how we can best provide it to you.
In this column a few weeks ago, Managing Editor Michael Stowe described how local news has evolved into our No. 1 focus. It's what we can offer, in-depth, that you can't find elsewhere. And, with a few exceptions, it's what we've heard you appreciate and look to your local paper to provide.
The development of "Your Community" is an extension of this local initiative, providing news that's close to the people, places and institutions that shape your everyday life -- your child's school, your place of worship, the community organization you volunteer for, the neighborhoods you live in.
Each day of the week, "Your Community" will carry a different theme, ranging from what's happening in K-12 schools to news about nonprofits. Letting you know about community events and fundraisers plays a large role in this effort, as does spotlighting the activities of religious organizations. Our focus will be on the Greater Roanoke Valley.
As this page debuts this week, you'll see new columns and a shift in content that had run on other days inside the Virginia section. Our local history column, "Looking Back," moves from Sundays to Mondays. Reporters Rob Johnson, covering religion, and David Harrison, covering education, will begin new weekly columns that capture news on their beats. JoAnne Poindexter will focus on community achievers in the "Have You Heard?" column on Tuesdays, as well as introduce a spotlight on a notable neighborhood or community landmark.
Readers of our zoned sections, which publish weekly in the Roanoke Valley, will recognize some of this content. That is because the addition of "Your Community" inside the Virginia section coincides with a change in our publication of the Neighbors sections. We will cease publishing these tabloids in their current format next month; their last edition under the Neighbors name and format is April 18.
This decision actually brings us back to our roots: In 1980, the first zoned Neighbors coverage began inside the Virginia section of The Roanoke Times & World News. We're making the change now because we realize the Neighbors format needed to be updated to reflect the needs of our readers and advertisers, in print and online.
On April 25, we will try out a new community-news format in three Roanoke Valley communities: Southwest Roanoke County, Salem/Glenvar and Botetourt County. Each will be served by a weekly tabloid, respectively named SwoCo, So Salem and The Botetourt View.
What these publications and "Your Community" have in common is you -- your involvement in our pages and the companion Web sites (which you can reach at roanoke.com/community).
We invite you to tell us what's happening in your part of the Roanoke Valley as well as send photos that capture your favorite moments, whether it's a sunset viewed from McAfee Knob or a youth T-ball game in Vinton.
(New River Valley readers have a similar invitation to join in at newrivervalley.com, the companion site to our six-day tabloid, The Current.)
As we roll out these changes, let us know what you think. We're eager to hear how community news fits into your life.
New way to give your feedback to us
Few days pass without a reader calling to casually share an opinion about our pages. This spring we're launching a more formal effort to capture your feedback by assembling an online reader panel.
If you sign up for the panel, you'll be e-mailed a weekly survey asking about specific stories and advertisements, in print and online. You don't have to participate each week, but as an incentive we're offering gift cards to respondents who rack up points with each survey.
To sign up and learn more, go to www.roanoke.com/panel.
