Some changes to your Cityview

You may have noticed some physical changes to your Cityview recently. Over the past few months, we have been experimenting with options to provide you with an even better package of news and information. You told us you like the changes. We tend to like them, too.

The most noticeable difference is our new magazine-style format, or our "investment in staples," as one reader noted. We have been experimenting with this in recent weeks with some of our papers. Last week was our first issue with all copies being stitched and trimmed. We have received numerous positive comments from readers and advertisers. You told us it is now easier to read. You like how the pages don't fall out or separate. And you said you are keeping the paper around longer, which means even more people are reading it.

We also added more color options to our pages. You will see this with additional process color on each page in our photos and in our advertising. The registration is tighter, and the color on the paper simply looks better.

We are bringing some "edge" back to our advertising with sexier images and visuals that will make you take even more notice and entertain you. While a peppy orange publication that looks and reads a lot like Seventeen magazine has resorted to giving ads away to fill its pages, we tend to believe that you get what you pay for with advertising. And we are pleased to provide our advertisers with results.

We expanded our classified section to give you more choices for buying and selling products and services. We added apartment listings to provide you with an expanded listing of rental options. And we are continuing to expand our weekly Cityview Bites food listings to tie in more with our quarterly Relish guide to dining.

We are also expanding the number of locations that you can find Cityview. By working with other independent publishers, we are growing our already extensive rack location list. The good news is that you are picking up and reading nearly all the 30,000 Cityview papers that we distribute each week. And you are sharing your copy too, with nearly 100,000 people now reading Cityview. The bad news is that other publications are not being picked up and are cluttering the racks. Please excuse their mess and thanks for continuing to seek us out.

Our already popular Web site, www.dmcityview.com, will be expanding with more content, photos, reader polls and a revived "Rant 'n' Rave" section. You will also find daily blogs from Editor Jon Gaskell and others. In addition, we will also be bringing back our requested e-mail notification program from the old Pointblank days.

Most importantly, we have continued to make the content our primary focus. We are not going to fill the pages with fluff, but will dig deep into the news that others won't cover. Expect more of the same.

All of this is an effort to provide you with a true alternative source of news and information packaged in a way that is easy for you to use. With so many print publications owned by one company that is headquartered out east, there has never been a more important time for an independent and locally owned voice. I welcome your comments and ideas as we continue to work to provide this newspaper for you.

Thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Publisher

Our annual look at where to best imbibe in Central Iowa

We're all about getting you wasted this summer - piss-the-bed, puke-over-the-balcony, writhe-on-top-of-the-bar kind of drunk - the caliber of drunkenness that prompts morning-after pledges to give up the bottle. In this heat, it's about all we can do. And luckily, Des Moines and its suburbs have their share of watering holes to help us get our fix, with each one different in its own special way. Be it for a game of stick, a chance at getting lucky, the cheapest drinks or where to go to get the fantastic bar eats, Central Iowa has it all when it comes to getting good and schnockered. And in a lame attempt to categorize them, we took a (very unscientific) poll, using some of this town's most experienced drinkers so as to hopefully lead you to water, or rather, in this case, just make you drink. Our Big Ass Bar Guide is your ultimate source for valuable information for tying one on. Keep it on your coffee table or liquor cabinet as a guide - or use it to challenge yourself to see how many of the spots you can hit before summer's end. But most important, imbibe like the champs we know you are. Here's to you, Des Moines. >> more