Cryptic billboards have been popping up over Owensboro, creating quite the buzz in the community. Just what does “hey, owensboro, get with the times” mean? And what is happening on August 2, 2018?
We have heard lots of great guesses. Cork & Cuisine is at the Owensboro Convention Center that evening. There is a Rooster Booster that morning. We even heard that Owensboro must be joining Eastern Standard Time. While all of those are good guesses (well, that last one may be stretching just a bit), Owensboro Living wants to give you the scoop if you haven’t heard what all the commotion is actually all about.
Owensboro Times a new daily, online news source will launch on August 2. The Times will cover Owensboro and Daviess County stories as well as national and regional stories that have a local connection. This Owensboro-centric news will be delivered in a number of platforms, including a website, an app (with alerts), daily email newsletter, video, podcast and a strong social media presence. Owensboro Times will feature:
- Breaking News
- Features
- Sports
- Business, Finance & Economy
- Arts & Entertainment
- Editorial & Opinion
- Health & Wellness
- Education & Culture
- Politics
- Obituaries
- Weddings, Engagements & Anniversaries
- Records
- Classified Listings
- Business Directory
- Live Streaming Local Events
And while The Times will cover every news story Owensboro needs to read, one thing it is not is a newspaper. They plan to utilize video as often as possible and gain a significant social media following through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.
Owensboro Times founders, Jason Tanner and Christy Chaney, both believe that The Times will reach a demographic of this community that is currently underserved, saying that Owensboro citizens currently receive news from the same printed source, another city, or have decided not to get local news at all. “We believe it’s time for a change,” the two said. (Hence their billboard marketing campaign.)
Tanner and Chaney are also very vocal about what Owensboro Times will stand for. “Daily, local news should be accessible to everyone,” said Jason, who is the owner and founder of Owensboro Living. “Owensboro Times will be the easiest way to get Owensboro news and it will be written by Owensboro. It will be people from this community telling Owensboro’s story.”
Chaney, who owns Studio Slant and worked in her family’s business for 18 years, believes that creativity is key. But more than that, Christy says The Times will bring a positive light to Owensboro stories. From the beginning they set their sights and their standards high, creating their own version of the Golden Rule they call the “Widmer Way.”
Taylor Widmer was a 16-year-old young man that died in a single vehicle accident on August 7, 2014. His mother, Andrea Widmer, learned of her son’s death when she was scrolling through Facebook and saw Taylor’s car, upside down in a cornfield, in a news source’s post. The post read: “Coroner called to the scene of single car accident.”
“I would never want anyone else’s loved ones to have to go through that,” Andrea said. “My vision of his passing was taken away from me. It still haunts me.”
Widmer said it is OK to tell the story, but it’s not OK to be the story. And Chaney wants to echo that principle. “Owensboro Times will cover all local news in an unbiased manner, but also in a positive light,” Chaney said. “We understand Taylor’s wreck was a news story, but there is a way to cover news that maintains journalistic integrity while respecting those involved.”
Tanner and Chaney have formed a creative and forward-thinking staff of editors, writers, photographers and videographers to deliver daily, digital news to OBKY. And they have only one clear message for Owensboro Living readers — it’s time to get with The Times!
