• by August 16, 2000

The Boston Globe will begin a weekday section for targeting of local news and advertising in Boston's western suburbs with the publication of Globe West, a new, stand-alone section that will appear every Thursday and Sunday in the Globe starting on September 28.

Globe Publisher Richard H. Gilman, said "This is an important new program that will make the Globe more useful and informative for readers in the growing metrowest area. It will provide more local news coverage for readers and more marketing opportunities for local advertisers."

Gilman said Globe West will be a 16-page separate section that will cover a total of 35 cities and towns west of Boston. It will be published in four editions, each one covering 6 to 11 communities. On Sunday, Globe West will replace the existing West Weekly.

Gilman also said Globe West will offer advantages for local merchants. It will be published in two zones for advertisers, allowing local stores and businesses a greater ability to use the Globe in their marketing and advertising programs. The section will have a 50-50 split between advertising and news and feature material.

In addition to Globe West, the paper is introducing two new sections - Life at Home and Marketplace - that offer local merchants additional targeted advertising opportunities.

This is the first attempt the Globe has made in targeting news and advertising in its daily newspaper, but Gilman said additional weekday efforts targeted at other geographic areas will be implemented in the future. Also planned are expanded opportunities to target classified advertising.

Globe West, Life at Home, and Marketplace are just three of several changes and additions being made to the Globe this year. The overall size of the newspaper was reduced earlier this year to a 50-inch "web width," making the paper more compact and easier to handle. Also to appear in September will be a new graphic redesign of the entire newspaper, a new section on the business of biotechnology, and an expanded Sunday Business section.

- Anya Khait