FRANKLIN—Experts are quick to segment society into generations. There are such titles as the Greatest Generation, Generation X and so on, but for those over the age of 45, they can quickly be united under the title of the growing generation.

According to population statistics, those over the age of 45 make up 50 percent of the area’s population and that figure is only expected to rise.

More specifically, those areas in the Suffolk and Western Tidewater areas of Virginia and the Gates and Hertford County area of North Carolina are expected to see significant growth in those who fall in to the 45 and older age group.

To meet that growing population and to better serve that segment of its readership The Tidewater News announced Wednesday the development and launch of Virginia-Carolina Boomers.

Virginia-Carolina Boomers is a locally produced magazine with content that reaches far outside of the region’s coverage area and is set to publish twice each year, aimed at serving those in the “active generation.”

“Our main goal as a media company is to serve two groups,” The Tidewater News General Manager Betty Ramsey said during the product’s launch at the Paul D. Camp Community College Workforce Development Center. “We want to serve our readers and our business partners. If we fail to serve the needs of either group, then we fail to have a solid franchise.”

Virginia-Carolina Boomers is unique in that it is a joint venture between The Tidewater News and its sister media companies in Suffolk and Ahoskie.

“By partnering together, we can better serve the combined region and our valued readers,” Suffolk Publications Director of Special Projects Nikki Reeves said. “The talent we have throughout our companies will give us a great opportunity to create a top-notch product.”

The companies will also combine distribution, giving the magazine an impressive 30,000-plus distribution from the very start.

The content of the magazine will focus on overall quality of life topics such as travel, home and garden, healthy living, entertainment and more.

The first edition of Boomers is scheduled for this fall, with the second scheduled to come out in early 2011.