The name may have changed, but our goal remains the same.

“Our mission is to inform and entertain our readers, preserve the history of our local community and service the needs of local businesses and individuals with diverse media solutions.”

With a strong lineage that can trace its history back to the Mauch Chunk Daily Times well over a century ago, the Times News - the sister daily paper of the Lehigh Valley Press - continues to adapt and has rebranded.

As of today, the businesses will be recognized under the umbrella of the Times News Media Group, Jen Benninger, advertising director, announced.

Northampton Press is one of eight Lehigh Valley Press weekly newspapers.

“I am so excited that we are finally able to announce ourselves as the Times News Media Group,” Benninger said. “We have been working on this project for almost a year, and while this announcement is about a name change, it has been a message that our sales department has been giving to our advertisers for the past couple of years.”

With the rebranding, all the products the company offers will be featured under the Times News Media Group.

“In rebranding to the Times News Media Group, we hope to make our Lehigh Valley customers and readers aware of the variation of products we offer to help inform our readers and build our advertisers’ businesses,” said Scott Masenheimer, Lehigh Valley Press publisher.

In addition to the print product, offerings include lvpnews.com, tnonline.com, The Kids Closet Sale, Times News Travels, tnSportsChat, Newspapers in Education and TN Printing. The company uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to get information to its readers.

There are many opportunities for advertisers to get the word out to their target audience.

The perception

Jennifer Rowden, marketing director, said the younger readers want news that is more interactive, offering a back-and-forth exchange.

“We are trying to find ways to make us as interactive as possible,” Rowden said.

Social media and events will play a bigger role.

Rowden said the newspapers have seen many changes with its department heads within the past two years, as Janie Yacubeck took over as circulation manager in the spring of 2017; Rowden became marketing director in the fall of 2017; Benninger took over as advertising director in the spring 2018; and Abelina Barra was promoted to handle digital media and marketing in the fall of 2019.

Evolving with the times

“We’re trying to show the perception that the paper is just the beginning,” Benninger said. “We want to be more community-oriented and that we’re providing a service to them.”

The purpose, Benninger said, is to “reach a different audience to better inform and educate people what we’re up to.”

Benninger said this is just the start geared toward that vision.

“You’ll see more events, more contests,” she said.

In the community

Benninger said the newspapers have been a proud member of the community for a long time and intend to remain that way.

“It’s our job to continue to show that we are strong and developing new ideas,” she said. “We’re trying to build a better company, just as everyone else does.”

Benninger said the newspapers will continue to meet the needs of the community.

“We are dedicated to helping businesses and individuals with their marketing messages by using a multitude of ways, including the printed newspaper,” she said. “We are in this for the long haul and will continue to evolve with the trends of our industry to benefit our readers, advertisers and business partners.”