Times Launches Inland Empire Edition Today

The Los Angeles Times is introducing an Inland Empire edition today that features expanded coverage of local and regional news.

The new edition, which will be published Monday through Friday, will be distributed in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

At the same time, the paper’s California section will be customized for Inland Empire readers. In addition to its existing coverage of the state and the region as a whole, the section will highlight news and trends of particular interest to readers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Weekend Calendar, published every Thursday, will have new listings for Inland Empire theaters.

“The Inland Empire is the fastest-growing area in Southern California, and parts of it have very strong affinities to Los Angeles,” said John Puerner, publisher of The Times. “We believe the Inland Empire represents an important source of future, consistent circulation growth over the long term.”

An expanded staff of reporters, based in Riverside, will focus on coverage of government and politics; public safety and the courts; K-12 and higher education; the environment and transportation; and the area’s growth and development.

“When The Times introduced the California section in 2001, the aim was to offer readers what no other newspaper can provide -- Southern California’s only truly regionwide news report,” said John Carroll, editor of The Times. “The new Inland Empire edition will cover the local area news with great depth and seriousness and ... give a broader context to it by covering Southern California and state news in the same fashion.”

The Inland Empire edition is the fifth regional edition published by The Times in Southern California. The four other regional editions cover the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the San Fernando Valley, Orange County and Ventura County. The Times is owned by Tribune Co.