The Southwest Voice

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Announcing the launch of The Southwest Voice
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Posted by marylou Wed Apr 5, 2006 08:39:58 PDT
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1 response 0 comments Mercado Nuevo, a subsidiary of The Bakersfield Californian, is pleased to announce the launch of The Southwest Voice community newspaper and Web site.

Following in the footsteps of its successful sister publication, The Northwest Voice, The Southwest Voice will feature neighborhood news, pictures and columns contributed by people in the community.

The Voice newspapers are pioneers in the growing field of citizen journalism. The Northwest Voice, launched in May 2004, was the first citizen journalism publication started by a U.S. newspaper company. Bluffton Today, YourHub.com and other newspapers followed suit with similar publications and Web sites.

“In Bakersfield, we are longtime believers in the power of community participation,” said Mary Lou Fulton, who oversees Mercado Nuevo in her role as Vice President of Audience Development for The Californian. “When you offer readers a way to share their stories, you give them a personal and emotional stake in what we publish.  That personal connection is at the heart of what drives readership.”

As with The Northwest Voice, readers of The Southwest Voice contribute content online at http://swvoice.com where they also can comment on articles, set up personal profiles and connect with others who share their interests via social networking. The Web site is powered by a community publishing system developed by The Californian for its growing family of web products, including Bakotopia.com, recently honored with the Newspaper Association of America's Digital Edge Award for best participatory Web site. 

For The Southwest Voice, contributions are published first to the Web, and as many contributions as possible are included in the print edition distributed every other Wednesday starting April 5. There will be 27,000 copies of the print edition that will be home-delivered for free to every home in the area, and an additional 4,000 copies available in racks.

"After we started The Northwest Voice, we immediately began receiving requests from Southwest residents who wanted their own community publication," said Mercado Nuevo General Manager Delia McCallister. "Now they have one, filled with community news and features, written by and for Southwest residents."

The Southwest Voice will emphasize news about schools, youth sports, churches, community events and celebrations. In addition, The Southwest Voice will feature regular columns on parenting, gardening, golf, fitness, pets and home entertaining.

The Voice newspapers are publications of Mercado Nuevo, an independent subsidiary of The Bakersfield Californian that also publishes the weekly Latino magazine Mas, and Bakotopia.com, a local online community and marketplace focused on local music, events and people.

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