Raleigh Downtowner to Offer Business News

Raleigh, NC, February 08, 2009 --(PR.com)-- To mark the beginning of its fifth calendar year in downtown Raleigh, Raleigh Downtowner Magazine is launching a new business section this month. Crash Gregg, publisher of the monthly publication, calls the addition “a natural progression based on the mainly professional readership of our magazine.”

“The main focus and mission of Raleigh Downtowner Magazine has always been to help promote downtown Raleigh and the surrounding areas,” he said. “We've been a media champion to the many businesses within our coverage area who cater to consumers, and now we'll be able to do the same with those who sell business-to-business."

The new section will include business briefs, company profiles, interviews with various CEOs and industry leaders, and noteworthy information from the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA), a non-profit organization that builds partnerships and collaborations with the public and private sectors to address issues facing downtown Raleigh.

The first edition of Downtowner’s new biz section, distributed the second week in February, will feature a Q&A with Harvey Schmitt (president and CEO of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce), a company profile of RBC Bank, briefs on new businesses in and around downtown Raleigh, and downtown statistics and information.

“The section will grow as it takes on a life of its own,” Gregg said, “but we plan to ensure that each article is interesting not only to our business readers but to our consumer readers as well. This will help distinguish our business section from other business publications, which can be a bit dry to non-business consumers.”

Downtowner’s new section will cover businesses and business activities within the wider parameters of the center city district as well as those around Raleigh and Research Triangle Park “whose clients, owners or executives participate in downtown's growth,” Gregg said. “This helps us to highlight companies who may not physically have offices downtown, but who are consistently present in our readership area.”

Advertising rates in the business section will be the same as in the more consumer-oriented sections with locally-owned businesses getting space reservation preference.

“We've had great response from our business-owner readers who are excited about being a part of the Downtowner in a way they were not able to before,” Gregg said. “We're proud to be an integral part in the burgeoning growth in our area and look forward to helping to shape its direction alongside the many great businesses in downtown.”

For more information on Raleigh Downtowner Magazine and to read current and archived editions, visit www.raleighdowntowner.com.

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