The Latrobe Shire is 150km east of Melbourne connected by the four lane Princess Highway. It has a rich blend of employment and lifestyle opportunities and is the centre of the most attractive and diverse areas in southern Australia.

Latrobe City is a multi-cultural community with large ethnic groups of Dutch, Italian, German and Maltese residents. The population of the Latrobe region is approximately 77,000 people.

The Latrobe Valley Express is the area's primary source of local news and information. It's the only newspaper that covers the entire Latrobe Shire. The Express is published twice weekly on Monday and Thursday and is home delivered free to all households in the Latrobe region. The distribution area extends from the west in the small towns of Yarragon and Trafalgar, through the major centres of Moe, Morwell, Churchill and Traralgon, and as Far East as Rosedale.

The Latrobe Valley is known for its wealth of power stations, heavy and light industry and natural resources. Morwell is the home of industries such as the Australian Paper Mill, which is the largest paper mill in the Southern Hemisphere, and has a long association with electricity generation. Central Gippsland of TAFE is also located in Morwell with additional campuses situated at Traralgon and Newborough. Morwell has a number of tourist attractions that includes the Latrobe Regional Gallery and the warm waters of Hazelwood Pondage where watersports are possible all year round. The Morwell Centenary Rose Gardens are noted as being the most significant rose gardens in rural Victoria, if not Australia. Traralgon was a supply town after gold was discovered in the area.

In 1877 the railroad arrived and Traralgon became a regional hub. Following the discovery of brown coal, manufacturing became a prime industry. One of the more famous residents from Traralgon is Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet who was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in medical science. Moe is the gateway to the Latrobe Valley. Moe boasts it's own racecourse, Lake Narracan home of Australian Water Ski and Hovercraft Championships, the Coalville Winery that has magnificent views over the slopes of Mt Baw Baw and many restaurants and bakehouses.

The Latrobe Valley Express employs the equivalent of seventy full staff (including casual and part timers) and is one of the larger non-industrial private sector employers in the region. The company is owned by a partnership of two family companies and Rural Press Limited, a public company with extensive media interests in regional Australia and overseas. The Express concentrates on local, state and national that is relevant to its strong local reader base. If there is a message that needs to be conveyed to the Latrobe Valley, the Express is the only newspaper to use.