Taking a closer look at boomers Sunday, January 21, 2007 - By Tom Griscom Publisher and Executive Editor Born between 1946 and 1964? We are looking for you. Baby Boomers, the generation of Americans who were born in the economic prosperity following the Second World War, are still in the shaping business. And baby boomers are readers. Sure there has been a migration to the computer world of assisted reading, but the boomer generation grew up in a time when information came from words on paper. Welcome back as the Chattanooga Times Free Press launches a new Baby Boomer focus every day on stories and pictures and even more at www.timesfreepress.com in a few weeks. Who are we? Yes, your writer is a boomer as are more than 50 percent of the editorial staff of the Times Free Press. We are reflective of many workplaces. In the fall of 2006, the Boomer Project, a research/marketing firm based in Richmond, Va., came on our radar screen. It has plenty of statistics on baby boomers, but it also examines ways this generation has affected and continues to affect American business and culture. These are but a few of the Boomer Project's findings: One out of three adults over 21 in the country is a baby boomer. The age segment 50-65 will grow in size by 70 percent over the next 15 years. Boomers control half of all the household discretionary income. Boomers at 50 expect to live 35 more years. A Times Free Press team invested weeks of time, interviewing area boomers, listening to them and learning that these adults love to share stories, relate to those of similar age and feel younger than their numerical age. They also are readers. They recall where they were on certain dates. They remember the local hangouts and recall, if male, the lottery number assigned during the Vietnam War draft. Shared experiences was a common theme from those interviewed boomers. There is a strong feeling that the issues faced by one boomer have been experienced many times over by similar boomers, and they want to share the learning. Today the Times Free Press introduces the boomer project to our readers -- in print. Remember, baby boomers are readers. Within a few weeks a page on the Times Free Press Web site (www.timesfreepress.com) will extend the print experience to an interactive digital world of boomers. How will you find the "boomer" story each day? Go to the gray line on the top of the front page of the Times Free Press; it is your guide to the boomer experience. As the Boomer Project states: "They are the generation that keeps moving the proverbial 'hill.' It once was 30, then 40, now 50. Soon it will be 60. As a result, they'll likely move 'Old Age' farther and farther into their future as well." To reach Tom Griscom, call (423) 757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com. Copyright 2007, Chattanooga Publishing Company Back to Media Coverage