About Blick aktuell Weißenthurm

Blick aktuell Weißenthurm

Blick aktuell Weißenthurm is the free weekly newspaper for the town of Weißenthurm and the surrounding Rhine communities 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 16,330 households each week in tabloid format, it is one of the network's larger editions. It has been published since 1996, when it began as the Weißenthurmer Zeitung. Its delivery area covers the "white tower" town on the Rhine's left bank opposite Neuwied and the neighboring communities, a densely settled riverside landscape of commuters, industry and village traditions. 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.

Overview

Published once a week in tabloid format, Blick aktuell Weißenthurm is delivered free to some 16,330 households in Weißenthurm and the surrounding Rhine communities. The delivery area centers on the town itself, named for its medieval white tower, and extends to neighboring villages on the Rhine's left bank that share the town's schools, clubs and riverside 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. With more than 16,000 copies, the Weißenthurm paper ranks among the network's larger editions. It dates to 1996, when it was founded as the Weißenthurmer Zeitung, one of the network's editions from the mid-1990s expansion.

As with all Blick aktuell papers, there is 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 is the riverside town's diverse population: commuters to Koblenz or Neuwied, workers in the Rhine-side industries, families, club members and seniors. Advertisers are local retailers, craftsmen, car dealers, gastronomy, health and care providers and service businesses, drawn by the paper's broad household coverage.

History

The Weißenthurm edition was founded in 1996 as the Weißenthurmer Zeitung, launched by the KRUPP publishing house as it built its free-weekly network along the Rhine. The Sinzig family firm, rooted in the Sinziger Zeitung of 1876, recognized the potential of the Weißenthurm area: a growing Rhine town opposite Neuwied, with industrial zones, residential districts and an active club life, ready for its own dedicated weekly.

The Zeitung became Blick aktuell Weißenthurm when the publisher consolidated its 36 local titles under the single Blick aktuell brand. The rebranding unified the advertising network while preserving each edition's local editorial identity, and brought the infrastructure of the larger organization: centralized production, the blick-aktuell.de portal and the presses of KRUPP Druck OHG.

Over nearly three decades, the paper has chronicled the town's modern history: residential and commercial development on the Rhine's left bank, debates over the waterfront and traffic, the political life of the town council, and the steady rhythm of club anniversaries, parish festivals, carnival sessions and town events. It has documented the community's responses to Rhine floods and its everyday civic life.

The edition's growth into one of the network's largest reflects the dynamism of the Rhine corridor towns. Family ownership, with Hermann Krupp as editor-in-chief and Hermann and Peter Krupp as managing directors, provided the continuity for decades of uninterrupted publication.

Coverage and Content

Blick aktuell Weißenthurm's journalism covers the white tower town in its riverside reality. The Weißenthurm town council's decisions on urban development, the Rhine waterfront, schools, roads and cultural funding are reported in the detail residents need, giving the community its essential record of local government.

The Rhine shapes the agenda: the waterfront, flood protection, the shipping industry and the riverside parks, along with the views across to Neuwied. The town's landmark, the medieval white tower that gave it its name, provides heritage material, and features on local history appear alongside the weekly news.

The town's growth brings development topics: new residential areas, commercial zones, traffic and infrastructure, and the debates over balancing growth with quality of life. 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 home and garden, building, travel and the holidays give advertisers themed environments.

The tabloid's large color photographs show Weißenthurm in its riverside character: the white tower, the Rhine views, the town festivals and the familiar faces of local celebrations. The tone is industrious, 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 manages 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 Weißenthurm, they attend council meetings, photograph town festivals and keep the newsroom connected to riverside 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 edition's large print run makes it one of the anchor jobs on the presses.

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 Weißenthurm 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 Weißenthurm news daily, browse photo galleries from town festivals and club events, 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 town.

On social media, primarily Facebook, the Blick aktuell brand shares story links, event tips and photo galleries directly with readers. The town's riverside content, white tower views, Rhine scenes, festival pictures, performs well on social platforms, and the newsroom uses the channels to collect tips and reader photographs.

For advertisers, the publisher offers 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 broad household coverage in Weißenthurm, while expanding the digital channels through which Rhine journalism will increasingly be read.