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Knox and Waldo VillageSoup, locally dubbed theSoup™, is an extraordinary experiment bringing immediate information and interactions to weekly newspaper markets. It exemplifies a new business model going beyond the Community News business to the Community Hosting business. Knox and Waldo VillageSoup and its affiliated weekly newspapers are charter members of VillageSoup Common, a for-profit member organization providing brand and brand-marketing, deployment, hosting, support, education and enhancement services to independent local media companies serving traditional weekly newspaper markets.

theSoup™ hosts postings from journalist, individual, business and organization community members who together create a place to:
     • Learn the news that affects their community
     • Share the events and ideas that unite their community
     • Shop the goods and services that sustain their community

theSoup™ reaches beyond print and online news to create a place for community based discourse, debate and commerce. It becomes the community newsstand, the community grange hall and the community main street with neighbors growing together.

Knox and Waldo VillageSoup.com are the most widely read sources of news and information in Midcoast Maine. Together they average more than 3.5 million page views per month and 8,000 unique visitors each day.

Affiliated weekly newspapers the Knox County Times and the Waldo County Citizen are the Midcoast region’s fastest growing weekly newspapers with circulation exceeding 12,000 copies. The Times, the Citizen and VillageSoup.com together comprise a unique cross-media opportunity for advertisers setting new standards in the hyper-local media industry.

theSoup™ is distinguished by its focus on creating an online community place where advertisers participate as members. While most media companies strive to increase traffic to online sites to sell more display advertising, theSoup™ uniquely offers local businesses a set of community shared tools that give them control over posting useful and timely information. Businesses can post such items as the latest real estate listings, daily meal specials, changes in business hours, news of recent achievements, and new product and service offerings. Membership and usage fees, along with banner and button ads, generate critical additional revenue to support high quality, exclusively local, professional journalism, which is the key to clarifying important issues and events that stimulate local community actions.

theSoup™ website content is free with unrestricted access. iMembers, bizMembers and orgMembers post news, comments, events, classifieds, products and services directly to the site. Members can request e-mail alerts of breaking news and specific products and services such as a type of real estate listing, classified listing or dining menu special. Membership includes delivery of theSoup™'s affiliated weekly newspapers.

VillageSoup began in 1996 with browser-based tools to help local businesses and service providers survive among national and franchise competition. theSoup™ offered daily local news online -- in communities where there was only weekly news -- to drive website traffic to those businesses using VillageSoup tools.

Knox and Waldo VillageSoup added two printed weeklies in 2003 and 2004. After three years, these newspapers are the second and third most circulated paid weeklies in a market that has six paid weeklies and one free shopper. The Knox County Times has already received newspaper of the year and general excellence awards from state and regional associations. Knox and Waldo VillageSoup dominates web activity serving 3.5 million page views per month and 8.000 unique visitors per day across two markets, each of which has fewer than 40,000 residents. Sharp spikes in traffic occur every time weather threatens, sirens blare, and municipal debates occur, and in times of local family tragedy or celebration.

Knox and Waldo VillageSoup was one of five finalists for the 2003 Batten Award along with the Chicago Tribune, MSNBC, Minnesota Public Radio and the San Francisco Chronicle. Dan Gilmore in an awards luncheon address cited VillageSoup as "the one entrant that has it right…you better watch them." theSoup™ is one of three finalist for the EPpy 2007 Best Weekly Newspaper Affiliated Website.

theSoup™ has been invited to make presentations to the Online News Association, the New England Press Association, Media Giraffe, Maine Press Association, America-East New World Media Conference and most recently the October 2006 J-Lab Citizen Media Summit in Washington, D.C.

VillageSoup is a registered trademark and domain.

For news questions, e-mail news@villagesoup.com. For advertising questions, e-mail sales@villagesoup.com.