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NUVO
3951 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
(317)254-2400 - phone
(317)254-2405 - fax

About NUVO

For those of you interested in learning more about why we do what we do, the following should help.

The aim of our entire organization, sales, marketing and editorial is: to empower intelligent, open-minded innovators through storytelling.

Generally speaking, NUVO is for the underdog. As we are independently owned and operated, we feel we have few conflicts of interest.

We also seek to identify those innovators and early adopters who are leading the way to a more conscious, healthy and wise way of living.

To accomplish this in editorial, we use a combination of staff writers, editors and photographers, along with a variety of freelance writers, artists and photographers who contribute to our product. On any given week, the NUVO editorial product may be comprised of as much as two-thirds of freelance driven work.

We rely on freelancers, as they bring a vast history and wide talent. Freelancers can specialize in certain beats, say, a visual arts reviewer or a reggae music writer. Freelancers bring diversity in voice, age, race, class and experience, adding their voices and perspectives to our publication.

Now, we know some of you like to read publications from the back and move toward the front, but we’ll conduct our tour of NUVO in the traditional, front-to-back format.

The COVER PAGE:
• Why does it exist? To compel a reader to pick up our publication because the cover image and accompanying text.
• What else is there to say?
Our NUVO logo tells you that we are “Indy’s free thinking entertainment source” and that we are available “Free Wednesdays” and also the date of our publication.
We think this is the most important page of the paper, because even if you can’t judge a book by its cover, you might not even pick up our newsweekly if the cover is uninteresting.

TOC (TABLE OF CONTENTS):
• Why does it exist? To help the reader navigate through the publication – as well as see the highlights of what's on our Web site this week.
• Why is it where it is? It’s at the beginning so that you come to it quickly.
• Why is it half a page? Some publications do as much as a full page or more, but we like our TOC sweet and simple, leaving more editorial room for stories.
• What else is there to say?
We are proud to be 100% recycled and we provide a chart on this page that tells the readers what we save in terms of trees, water and energy on an annual basis.

MAIL:
• Why does it exist? To provide readers with a forum to agree or disagree with our editorial content. This is where we are held accountable for our stories.
• Why is it where it is? A traditional place for letters to the editor, our Mail page has an early-in-the-book location so that readers can be brought up to date immediately on the current dialogue.

• What else is there to say?
Our general rule of thumb is that letters be 300 words or less, that you include your name and your city and that you try to not libel somebody so that we get sued over it. In fact, we occasionally have to edit these missives so that we don’t get sued or to diminish or eliminate the number of expletives or to reduce the size of the letter because you couldn’t restrain yourself. We tend to publish letters that pertain to stories we’ve written.
Also on this page: The masthead provides a listing of our employees along with contact information.
Additional information is provided, including editorial policy, submission policy and subscription strategy.

NEWS-COMMENTARY:
• Why does it exist? To provide a humorous and satiric look at local and national issues.
• Why is it where it is? To our minds, putting small, fun reads in the front of the publication fits a kind of aperitif mode: we’re warming you up for the larger stories to come.
• Gadfly – a regular editorial cartoon from our resident illustrator, Wayne Bertsch
• THUMBS – this weekly wrap-up of pertinent news stories gives our editors a chance to tell a handful of stories at a glance — with their concomitant up or down vector.
• Haiku News by Jim Poyser: Poyser has written news haiku for over ten years, producing thousands of poems that in the traditional haiku form. These poems reflect the larger mission of NUVO’s aim as rendering news in haiku form is an innovative way of storytelling. Poyser is also NUVO's Managing Editor and he can be reached at jpoyser@nuvo.net
• Poll – each week, we ask a different question — to see where you stand on the issues of the day.
• Thoughtbite – the original, true maverick, Andy Jacobs Jr., provides one thought per week for us all to chew on.

HAMMER:
• What is it? NUVO’s longest running column is written by NUVO’s longest running writer, Steve Hammer.
• Why does it exist? For personal expression, as well as giving a recognizable face to our publication. It is there to be provocative, to truth-tell, to entertain, to honor.
• Why is it where it is? To give readers, early on in the publication, a sense of what is going on in the life of the city.
• Why is it half a page? Everything that needs to be said can be said in that half page format.
• What else is there to say?
Hammer writes about everything imaginable: sports, politics, music, art, faith, the competition, food, fun … you name it, over fourteen years, he’s covered it all. He can be reached at shammer@nuvo.net

HOPPE:
• What is it? NUVO’s longest running column is written by NUVO’s long editorial staff member, David Hoppe.
• Why does it exist? For personal expression, as well as giving a recognizable face to our publication. It is there to be provocative, to truth-tell, to entertain, to honor.
• Why is it where it is? To give readers, early on in the publication, a sense of what is going on in the life of the city.
• Why is it half a page? Everything that needs to be said can be said in that half page format.
• What else is there to say?
Associate/Arts Editor David Hoppe is a multiple award-winning author, who regularly is awarded the Society for Professional Journalists honor for best critique/review. Hoppe, though, writes about all things cultural. His sweep includes politics, sports, media, architecture, you name it; if it informs the life of Indianapolis, Hoppe (see his bio elsewhere in this product)has given it deep thought. He can be reached at dhoppe@nuvo.net

NEWS:
• Why does it exist? To cover a gamut of subjects, from crime to environment to social justice to public policy… you name it, it’s there. We've won numerous awards over the years for our news coverage.
Laura McPhee NUVO’s News Editor is the main contact person for this section. She can be reached at lmcphee@nuvo.net

COVER:
• Why does it exist? It's the cover story, dude. It exists to give you, the reader, something meaty (sorry, vegetarians) and juicy to read. Something to spend time with in the coffee shop, on the commute (not while YOU'RE driving!), or in your home. Our main story each week can be anywhere from one to six pages long. Most often, our cover story is three pages long, and is ideally a character-driven narrative. We try to mix it up each month, with one social justice cover, one music cover, one entertainment cover, one arts cover, but, hey, it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes our cover space contains more than one story – when we have to tell multiple stories

CALENDAR:
• Why does it exist? To help you figure out how to spend your time and money.
This Calendar product is the centerpiece of NUVO, figuratively , at least. We lead with a by-day “Go and Do” section that gives you our top bunch of picks for the upcoming week. We place a special emphasis on what's free as well, as NUVO likes “free” in all the connotations of the word. The second part of the Calendar is our “More Go and Do” -- shorter listings of events that have a longer shelf-life, such as theater performances that span weeks, or visual arts or museum exhibits that span months, or comedians who come to town for a multiple-day performance. On the tail end of our Calendar section is our review section, wherein our writers review the arts and entertainment happenings of the previous week. Here, in this section, you’ll find writers who have been covering the arts with NUVO for years, including Tom Aldridge (classical music), Julianna Thibodeaux (visual arts), Lisa Gauthier (theater), Rita Kohn (dance … and, well, everything else), Josefa Beyer (theater), Susan Watt Grade (visual arts), Dan Grossman (visual arts). We can cover anything in the performance life of the city, along with books, architecture and sports.

CUISINE:
• Why does it exist? Because NUVO readers like to eat – and consider restaurants and adventure in dining.
• We recommend: Don’t read this section while you’re hungry – unless you’re ready to drive somewhere. The restaurant community is one of the most vibrant sub-cultures in the city and who doesn’t love to eat or try new restaurants? Our cuisine writers provide variety in their reviews, from high end, expensive restaurants to cheap eats – and everything in between. Our Culinary Picks directs readers to the most essential upcoming culinary-related events, along with beer expert Rita Kohn's weekly installment of her Beer Buzz product, that surveys local and statewide brewers to see what new brew they're cooking up for our beer lovers.

FILM:
• Why does it exist? Because NUVO readers love their movies.
Ed Johnson-Ott has been writing movie reviews for NUVO for over ten years. His “every-person” approach means there’s not a lot of behind-the-scenes gossip or financial numbers. Ed knows it costs a good deal to go to the cineplex these days and he aims to make the recommendations that will be worth it to you. He provides a main review, along with an “Opening” section that reviews – or characterizes – the films that are coming out on Friday.

MUSIC:
• Why does it exist? Because music is one of the essential arts and entertainment forms – and NUVO's enjoyed a fine tradition for almost two decades of being a leader in coverage.
• What's in it? Headed up by NUVO’s newest staff addition, Scott Shoger, our music coverage tends to emphasize the local innovator playing live in a local venue. Shoger and his crew will bring you previews of regional, national and global acts who are coming to town, as well, but experimental combos in tiny clubs get big attention, too. Scott can be reached at sshoger@nuvo.net
Long-running features in our Music section include: Chuck Workman’s jazz column. Does anyone in the city know more about jazz than Chuck? We don’t think so. That’s why he’s had a regular presence in NUVO for over a decade and a half.
Wayne Bertsch’s “Barfly” is a regular product that any publication would be thrilled to have: A graphic, comic testimonial to local musicians.
Soundcheck: This product used to comprehensive, but we decided it would be more useful to you if we picked the top ten or so shows of the upcoming week – to help you with your decisions.

And there there's:

WEIRD: Chuck Shepherd’s weekly round-up of bizarre happenings across the planet has long been a favorite among NUVO readers. How do we know that? Because when we’ve considered dumping it, you’ve convinced us otherwise.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY: Same as above!

TOM TOMORROW: Same as above!

ALL three of these products are not locally-generated, but they have been with NUVO for such a long time, they feel like home-grown products to us.