EAST GREENWICH – A retired marketing executive has launched an online-only news organization that will cover events in and around East Greenwich.

The new site is called My02818.com – 02818 being the zip code for East Greenwich and the Potowomut and Cowesett neighborhoods of Warwick – and it was launched March 9. The site says it will provide “a deep array of news and community information reflecting life in 02818.”

Much like a traditional newspaper, My02818 says it will publish coverage of daily news and features, sports, weather, entertainment and events, along with opinion pieces. It will also have sections devoted to topics such as local government and public schools; weekly polls; and video and photo galleries.

A number of community organizations, including the East Greenwich School District, the Chamber of Commerce, and local clubs and churches, have committed to sharing information about themselves on the site through “dashboards” that feature calendars and photo galleries.

In recent years, media experts have predicted the low cost of publishing on the Internet will lead to an explosion in narrowly-targeted, or “hyperlocal,” news sites aimed at specific geographic areas. My02818 publisher Charles G. “Chuck” Newton, an East Greenwich resident, placed his site firmly in that vein.

“Our focus is unremittingly and unapologetically local,” Newton said. “We think of My02818.com as the ‘com’ in community, as well as communication. If it happens in 02818, or directly affects people living or working in 02818, it’s news to us.”

My02818’s parent company is Nooznet LLC, which Newton registered as a business last August, according to state records. The site runs on a content management system developed by Moline, Ill.-based TownNews.com. (TownNews is majority-owned by the newspaper publishing company Lee Enterprises, which does not own any publications in New England.)

Apart from Newton, My02818’s Web site lists an editorial staff of eight – one editor, four reporters, and three photographers – some of whom have backgrounds in traditional journalism. (My02818’s business reporter is former Providence Business News editor Frank Prosnitz.) The site also lists four “contributing editors.”

The “Internet today is mainstream media for a majority of people in this country,” Newton said. He argued the new site will fill a void, because the West Bay “is significantly underserved by the media.”

“The Providence Journal is no longer a factor in West Bay or 02818,” he said. “Television has never paid much attention to local communities. Radio is all about demographics, not geography. So we’re left with local print media, which try and do a good job, but are restricted by space as well as weekly or monthly publication schedules.”

The site is also new competition for The East Greenwich Pendulum, a weekly publication that was founded in 1854 and is published by RISN Operations; the weekly NorthºEast Independent, owned by the Newport-based Edward A. Sherman Publishing Co.; and East Greenwich Magazine, which is published monthly.

My02818 has been in development for more than a year, and Newton said he wants the site to be “focused, full, fresh and fast.” He also said the site will emphasize two-way communication with readers.

The site is free and will be supported by advertising, according to Newton, who said he is optimistic about the site’s revenue prospects.

“This neighborhood, 02818, is the most affluent neighborhood in West Bay and arguably in the state, and if you’re selling something of value in Rhode Island, you’re going to want to be selling it in 02818,” he said. “It’s a ‘must have’ market for most major advertisers.” He also said the site will provide an opportunity for advertisers who want to do target promotions.

“Our goal is to provide advertisers access to a valuable, niche market, eliminate the waste in their advertising buys, and actually measure the results,” he said. “[We] believe that local is really the new frontier for the Internet and advertisers.”

Unlike traditional newspapers, which have long depended on classified listings as a key source of revenue, Newton said My02818 will offer free classified listings, much like Craigslist.