By: David Noack VeroNews.com Stays Focused on Local News
There's a new local newspaper in Indian River County, Fla., but don't look for
it at the newsstand. The only place you can read it is online.
VeroNews.com, which made its debut July 1, intends to be the county's
'hometown newspaper' and is preparing to take on the local media, including
the dominant Vero Beach Press Journal, which owned by the E.W.
Scripps Co.
While some content will be free, the online paper also intends to be fee-based,
charging a nickel a day, starting Oct. 1.
The virtual newspaper was launched, says Editor and Publisher Milton R.
Benjamin, to provide Vero Beach and Indian River county residents with a
source of strictly local news. A former foreign editor for The Washington
Post, Benjamin says he is concerned about newspaper consolidation,
especially along Florida's Treasure Coast, where most papers, as well as a
leading TV station, are owned by Scripps.
In addition to regular news, the paper will feature restaurant reviews, guides to
the area's best doctors, suggestions for weekend getaways, and what's
described as a 'comprehensive' classified-ad listing. But to Larry Reisman,
editor of the rival (and more traditional) Press Journal, it's let-the-
reader-beware when it comes to the credibility of information from an upstart
news operation. 'Any media can claim they're the hometown newspaper,' he
quips, 'but we've proven it for more than 80 years.' And he adds, 'anyone can
set up a Web site and begin putting 'stories' on their pages.'
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David Noack is a frequent contributor to Editor & Publisher
magazine.
(c) Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher
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