December 30th, 2010 UticaPhoenix.net

Thank you for joining us for this special issue of the Utica Phoenix. January not only starts a new year for us here in Utica, but it marks the first weekly edition of the Utica Phoenix!

Of the mythical bird, it was said that only one Phoenix existed at any one time, and it is life span was 1000 years. As the end of its life approached, the Phoenix would build a pyre nest of aromatic branches and spices such as myrrh, set it on fire, and standing in its midst, the bird is consumed in the flames. After three days the birth — or as legend say a rebirth — the Phoenix arises from the ashes. According to some, the Phoenix arises from the midst of the flames.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the famous Greek historian in 5th century B.C. was the first to mention the mythical bird, the Phoenix, in 5 B.C. The Phoenix has a myriad of international references, Egyptian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Phoenicians.

Here in the 21st century, the title of this publication is reference to rising from the ashes as pertains to Utica.

It is generally accepted wisdom that as goes Utica, so goes our region. So as Utica has struggled in the past 100 years or so, so have the surrounding towns and villages. Once a major socioeconomic and political center of United States, it is no secret that Utica has battled for decades to restore itself and its image.

Printed media is and has been a major part or creating that image.

Now in its ninth year, the Phoenix continues to bring in-depth stories that present Utica’s issues and citizens with integrity.

What began as a monthly community newsmagazine, the Phoenix was the only local media on the ground to cover the Inauguration in Washington, D.C., two waves of Congressional elections and broken numerous stories before other local media outlets.

The Utica Phoenix has continually gained respect and impact due to outstanding content and the consistent quality of our writers. A dedicated paper to the city of Utica, delivering compelling stories, hard-hitting journalism, and something that has been missing from the media in the region- space and words of our pages dedicated to the plethora of nationalities Utica is proud to call their own.

The Phoenix has, over the years, provided the MVLA page, highlighting our Spanish community. Most recently we have added Voices of Polonia page, celebrating the accomplishments of Polish-Americans in the building of this country. In our weekly paper, we will go further.

Phoenix editors are in the midst of conversations to add a Bosnian/Croatian/Eastern European page, which will show the accomplishments and offerings of this once fledgling, but now thriving community amidst the city of Utica. In the future we hope to highlight other nationalities, such as Burmese/Karen and Sudanese.

Going to a weekly publication has been an exciting opportunity. Utica is our home base – it’s where our office is, and it’s our city. However, now that we are a paid publication, Wolfe News Service delivers the UP to retail outlets in Oneida, Herkimer, Otsego and Madison counties.

The Phoenix is now available in more locations in Utica, all of the colleges, including Colgate, and the farther reaches of the Mohawk Valley such as Cooperstown and Booneville. Reaching out to more outlets and more communities takes not only dedication, but revenue, and we hope you will be with us in our mission to serve more locations, more people and more communities.

The Phoenix profile includes art, book, movie and music reviews and a powerful, diverse array of columnists and opinions.

Recently we established a campaign highlighting the things that make Utica great. We hope you have seen our column, “Why I Call Utica Home,” in which proud citizens write about the great things that Utica has to offer. Other area towns’ citizens may want to offer their reasons why they stay.

Plunging into a new era is never an easy thing. We ask our faithful, monthly readers, as well as those picking up our newspaper for the first time, to send us feedback, content or ideas. We are always looking for writers- people who want to share their story or view of Utica, or the area with our readers. We hope you will grow along with us and share a part of yourself with us as we have with you.

We are looking forward to this new challenge and to continuing to serve Utica in a positive way for the benefit of us all.

Thanks for buying the Phoenix and see you in the future!

-Editorial Staff.

September 2nd, 2010 UticaPhoenix.net
The community can look for exciting changes in the upcoming months to the Utica Phoenix. The Phoenix has enjoyed bringing you stories about Utica, the Mohawk Valley and national trends on a monthly basis for the last 8 years. We now announce some very exciting developments in the publication that you will see unfolding in the upcoming months.

Utica Phoenix now Online: We are happy to announce that we have been working with a website developer, Michael Miccoli, of marketpiper.com, to bring to life the first dedicated website to the Utica Phoenix. The website will feature important Utica Phoenix announcements, and more local news, which will display clippings, stories and pictures from Utica Phoenix articles. Additionally, we will have ‘Opinion,’ ‘Photo,’ and ‘Video’ sections as well as expanded advertising opportunities on our actual website. The new Utica Phoenix website will be dedicated wholly to the paper, allowing us to update our readers constantly throughout the month, in between editions.

We are launching the website with this issue, and it will be under construction as we continually add more content, advertisements and updates. In time, we plan to include pdf versions of past Phoenix articles and photos, available for download or purchase.

Sale of 9th Anniversary Edition: We are working to expand how the Phoenix is delivered to our loyal audiences. Currently the Phoenix is available in grocery stores for free. Conversations are underway with Wolfe News, the local distributor of publications, to distribute the Phoenix. Wolfe news will distribute the Phoenix regionally to numerous locations making access easier. This change demands a fee be placed on the paper. Soon the Phoenix will cost $.50 per copy.

The Phoenix Weekly: Plans are underway to establish the Utica Phoenix as a weekly publication beginning January 2011. In it more stories will be covered, more topics explored, and more people, events and activities presented. Movies, concerts and plays will be reviewed by local writers. Restaurants and art openings will be covered. We will offer advice columns along with our stable of able columnists, and a few new ones. The Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners will share their wisdom. We will offer a personal financial column. Crosswords, and Sudoku and a college page featuring the offerings from our local institutions of higher learning will be there as well. Our region will be presented in a way that demonstrates who we are at our multi-cultural best with the continuation of the Latino, Polonia pages and the possible inclusions of Bosnian and Burmese Karen pages.

With these change, we encourage submission of articles by people who may not have been able to submit to us before. While not a daily, a weekly publication will give the Phoenix the ability to publish articles of a more time-sensitive manner, while still staying true to our monthly intentions.

We ask you to help us to grow along with Utica and the Mohawk Valley. By helping to support us in our new vision, we will be able to continue to provide coverage of the Utica area in a way that brings an alternative coverage to daily news, with insightful, in depth stories about Utica and the surrounding areas.

We hope you continue to experience the Utica Phoenix as we have, and change along with us. We look forward to continuing to serve Utica and our community in our exciting ninth year ahead.