About Blick aktuell Vallendar

Blick aktuell Vallendar

Blick aktuell Vallendar is the free weekly newspaper for the Rhine town of Vallendar in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, published as one of 36 local editions in the Blick aktuell network of KRUPP Verlags GmbH, Sinzig. Reaching approximately 7,897 households each week in tabloid format, the edition has been published since 2005. Vallendar, the university town on the Rhine's right bank between Koblenz and Bendorf, home to the WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management and the Schönstatt movement's international center, gives the edition a distinctive academic and spiritual character. Produced by local editors and freelancers with the support of the network's central desk in Sinzig and printed by the family's KRUPP Druck OHG, the paper is financed entirely by advertising and contains no syndicated national news section, dedicating every page to the town and its surroundings.

Overview

Published once a week in tabloid format, Blick aktuell Vallendar is delivered free to some 7,897 households in Vallendar and the neighboring Rhine communities. The delivery area covers the town itself, with its districts, along with surrounding villages that share Vallendar's schools, clubs and Rhine-side life.

The edition is one of 36 titles in the Blick aktuell network published by the Krupp family's KRUPP Verlags GmbH of Sinzig, with a combined weekly circulation of roughly 430,000 copies. The Vallendar paper was launched in 2005, extending the network's coverage to the Rhine towns north of Koblenz.

In line with the network's editorial philosophy, the paper carries no mantle: no bought-in bundle of national and international news fills its pages. All content is generated within the KRUPP organization, by the central editorial desk in Sinzig under Daniel Stoffel, by local editors and by freelance contributors from a network-wide pool of around 100 reporters and photographers. The paper is local from the first page to the last.

The readership reflects the university town's character: students and academics, families, commuters to Koblenz, pilgrims and visitors to Schönstatt, club members and seniors. Advertisers are local retailers, craftsmen, car dealers, restaurants and hotels, health and care providers and service businesses, drawn by the paper's complete household coverage in its zone.

History

The Vallendar edition was founded in 2005, when the KRUPP publishing house extended its free-weekly network to the Rhine towns between Koblenz and Neuwied. The Sinzig family firm, rooted in the Sinziger Zeitung of 1876, had been systematically covering the Rhine corridor, and Vallendar, with its university, its Schönstatt center and its active town life, was a compelling market for a dedicated edition.

Launched directly as a Blick aktuell title, the paper began with a modern tabloid design, a presence on the blick-aktuell.de portal and an editorial team recruited for the market. In the two decades since, it has documented the town's contemporary history: the growth of the WHU campus, debates over the Rhine waterfront and urban development, the political life of the town council, and the steady rhythm of club anniversaries, parish festivals and town events.

The edition's history is shaped by the town's dual identity as an academic center and a place of pilgrimage. The WHU's rise to international prominence brought students and conferences to the Rhine town, while the Schönstatt movement's shrine draws visitors from around the world. The paper covers both worlds with the attention of a local chronicler.

Family ownership, with Hermann Krupp as editor-in-chief and Hermann and Peter Krupp as managing directors, provided the long-term stability for the Vallendar edition to establish itself in a competitive Rhine media market.

Coverage and Content

Blick aktuell Vallendar's journalism reflects the university town's distinctive mix. The Vallendar town council's decisions on urban development, the Rhine waterfront, schools, culture and housing are covered in the detail residents need, giving the community its essential record of local government.

The academic world provides unique themes: the WHU's campus life, its international students, research news and public events, and the interplay between the business school and the town. The Schönstatt movement adds a spiritual dimension: the pilgrimage shrine, the international gatherings and the movement's institutions, covered with the respect due to a global religious center in a small town.

The Rhine shapes the agenda: the waterfront, the passenger ships, flood protection and the riverside parks. Club life is the paper's heart: sports clubs, carnival societies, music associations, volunteer fire brigades and church congregations announce events, celebrate anniversaries and publish photographs, and the freelancers' picture pages are eagerly awaited.

Service journalism completes each issue: classified advertisements, job listings, property offers, family announcements, church service schedules and official municipal notices. Seasonal specials on education, home and garden, travel and the holidays give advertisers themed contexts.

The tabloid's large color photographs show Vallendar in its variety: the Rhine views, the campus, the Schönstatt shrine, the town festivals and the familiar faces of local celebrations. The tone is academic, engaged and community-minded.

Organization and Ownership

The publisher is KRUPP Verlags GmbH of Sinzig, the family-owned company of the Krupp family whose publishing tradition began with the Sinziger Zeitung in 1876. Hermann Krupp leads the Blick aktuell network as editor-in-chief, with Daniel Robbel as deputy editor-in-chief since 2018; Hermann Krupp and Peter Krupp serve as managing directors of the publishing house.

All 36 editions are coordinated through the central editorial desk in Sinzig, headed by Daniel Stoffel, which oversees production, layout and the digital portal. Local reporting comes from editors and freelance contributors drawn from a network-wide pool of about 100 journalists and photographers who live in the areas they cover. In Vallendar, they attend council meetings, cover campus and shrine events, and keep the newsroom connected to town life.

The papers are printed in tabloid format by KRUPP Druck OHG, the family's printing company, appearing on weekdays between Tuesday and Saturday, each edition on its fixed publication day. The integration of publishing and printing under family ownership gives the company control of the production chain.

The paper lives entirely from advertising revenue: display ads, classifieds, inserts and special publications sold to local and regional businesses. There is no cover price and no subscription income. The company follows the German Press Code (Pressekodex), the voluntary ethical code of the German press.

Digital Presence

Blick aktuell Vallendar appears online on blick-aktuell.de, the network portal gathering the local journalism of all 36 editions in geographically organized, continuously updated sections. Readers can follow Vallendar news daily, browse photo galleries from town festivals, campus events and pilgrimage gatherings, and search the archive of past coverage.

The e-paper presents the printed tabloid as a page-faithful digital replica for computers, tablets and smartphones, serving readers away on publication day and former residents following home from afar. Archived issues build a digital chronicle of the university town.

On social media, primarily Facebook, the Blick aktuell brand shares story links, event tips and photo galleries directly with readers. Vallendar's distinctive content, campus scenes, Rhine views, shrine gatherings, performs well on social platforms, and the newsroom uses the channels to collect tips and reader photographs.

For advertisers, the publisher markets combined print, portal and social campaigns through a single sales contact. The approach reflects the company's strategy: sustain the profitable printed weekly, with its complete household coverage in Vallendar, while expanding the digital channels through which Rhine journalism will increasingly be read.