InsideVero’s first monthly print edition will be direct mail early next week to 22,000 households on the barrier island and the mainland south of Wabasso.  An additional 2,000 copies available at local businesses.  

Written and edited by journalists experienced in reporting on community news, InsideVero will offer insightful and in-depth reporting, thoughtful commentary, personality profiles, history features, as well as business and community news, arts, entertainment and more.  

A message from the publisher:

Speaking at The Learning Alliance dinner last week, Ralph Smith, Managing Director for The Campaign for Grade Level Reading and Senior Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, applauded our community for committing to enable 90 percent of all third graders to read on grade level by 2018.

Leaders from business, government and non-profit organizations have joined with The Learning Alliance and local educators in committing to achieve this ambitious goal.  Importantly, Smith said, by setting a reading proficiency objective of 90 percent, our community is making a strong and bold statement that we believe every child matters.

As Smith spoke of the ideals affirmed by those who would make an ambitious commitment to properly educate every child, I offered a silent, “Amen!”

Witnessing such a broad coalition come together in support of The Learning Alliance’s “Moonshot Moment” affirms my conviction that the barrier island and mainland neighborhoods are not drifting apart, but are now, always have been, and always will be one community.

While it is all too easy to become disheartened by the challenging issues our community is currently working through, we need not embrace the disabling narrative some are offering about how it is time for the barrier island and the mainland to go their separate ways.

Through clouds of discouragement, discontent and divisiveness, groups such as The Learning Alliance are radiating hope, shining forth light and making a difference for good.  They are making it possible to continue to walk a path that will lead toward a healthier, better educated, more economically diverse, and still more prosperous community.

Reporting on the progress of groups such as The Learning Alliance makes journalism rewarding.  These stories are important to tell, because they help put in perspective so much of the surface-level drama that might otherwise dominate public discourse.

Telling the broader story and putting the news in perspective is the mission of InsideVero.com, a local online news magazine I began publishing three months ago, in collaboration with my friend and colleague, Milt Thomas.

Our objective is to offer thoughtful and balanced reporting, analysis and commentary on a wide range of local issues.  Beyond the headlines and public policy debates, InsideVero.com also reports on the lighter side of life in our community, offering personality profiles, lifestyle features, business news, coverage of the local social scene, a calendar of events, and more.

With the help of contributing writers Janie Gould, Christina Tascon and Nick Thomas, we are now also offering a monthly print edition of Inside Vero. 

In keeping with our commitment to serve the broader community, Inside Vero is direct mailed, not only to island residents, but also to an additional 12,000 homes on the mainland, for a total circulation of 24,000.  Copies will also be available at many of our advertisers’ places of business.

I can only begin to express the gratitude I feel toward the businesses that have made it possible for us to offer our community Inside Vero.  Please support them with your business.   

Sincerely,

Mark Schumann, Publisher