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The Valley Breeze is a free weekly newspaper that reaches more families in the suburban Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island than any other paper. It is locally owned, and independently audited by the Circulation Verification Council of St. Louis, Missouri, which gave the paper it's Gold Standard Award for excellence in 2003-2004.
Founded in 1996, the tab-style, demand circulation paper began with a press run of 10,000 in the towns of Cumberland and Lincoln, R.I.
In competition with three daily newspapers, The Valley Breeze focused on the more positive stories in its towns and gained rapid acceptance, growing to 14,000 circulation in just 18 months. During that short time, more than 100 small hometown businesses began advertising with the paper every week, finding they were able to reach more readers with far fewer dollars.
In August 1999, the paper began its second edition serving suburban North Smithfield and Woonsocket, R.I. with another 14,000 papers. In 2001, the nearby town of Blackstone, Mass., was added to the coverage area. The online edition was launched in December 2004.
Today, The Valley Breeze delivers 33,500 papers in 5 communities every Thursday, and virtually all of the papers are picked up by readers before the weekend begins. More than 300 local advertisers are in the papers each week, making it the best available source of local news and shopping information.
In February, 2006, The Valley Breeze purchased The Observer paid weekly newspaper of Smithfield, RI and the North Star free weekly of North Providence, R.I. Both communities are adjacent to our primary market. The Observer was converted to a free newspaper in March 2006. We now have more than 50,000 community newspapers to offer each week in suburban northern Rhode Island.
ITS FOUNDING
The Valley Breeze began in the Cumberland home of its founder, Publisher Thomas V. Ward, a photojournalist and editor, in partnership with Deputy Publisher James Quinn, an advertising artist. Joined by Editor Marcia Green, the trio had many years of experience in the area's daily newspapers. The paper rapidly outgrew the Ward family living room, and moved to its first office in the summer of 1996. Today's location, at 2190 Mendon Road, Cumberland, is the newspaper's fourth home.
What began as a 20-page tab is now 72 pages or more each week in its Cumberland-Lincoln edition, and slightly smaller in its newer, second edition.
The Breeze staff has grown to 16 full-time employees and another 6 part-time employees, as well as 11 drivers who deliver the newspaper to more than 500 locations every Thursday morning.
The newspaper is a member of the Northern R.I. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business.
Publisher Thomas V. Ward serves on the board of directors of the New England Press Association and Northern R.I. Chamber of Commerce. He is secretary and future president of the Rotary Club of Cumberland-Lincoln.
Sales Manager Paul Sciaraffa is president of the Free Community Newspapers of New England for 2006.
| The Valley Breeze 2190 Mendon Road, Suite 1 Cumberland, RI 02864-3830 Phone: (401) 334-9555 Fax: 401-334-9994 Toll Free outside R.I. 1-877-800-1559 |
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