Free weekly the Romford Gazette will be distributed in the town centre, at the station and will be available to pick up in supermarkets.
The first edition of the paper leads with a rapist jailed for an offence committed 20 years ago and an interview with Romford-born TV presenter Richard Madeley.
The new edition will be overseen by Nev Wilson, the editor of the Brentwood Gazette, which won paid-for newspaper of the year at the 2010 EDF Energy East of England Media Awards and has been shortlisted for paid-for weekly paper of the year at the Regional Press Awards 2012.
Nev said: "We’re all really proud of our first edition of the Gazette and I welcome the challenge of going up against the town’s main paid-for title The Romford Recorder.
"We’re out two days before the Recorder hits the shelves and our strong splash will mean we will certainly not have gone unnoticed.
"Reporter Piers Meyler did a fantastic job pulling together a great selection of stories for the first run, and it’s already full steam ahead for our second edition."
Editorial director of Northcliffe South East, Alan Geere, said: "Demand from readers and advertisers in the Romford area wanting a piece of the action with the award-winning Brentwood Gazette has been so high that launching a new edition was the obvious way to go.
"It will be freely available in supermarkets and at railway stations from Wednesday mornings and already feedback from the community has been very positive.
"There is a clearly a need for an honest, straightforward, campaigning newspaper that truly reflects its community."
The first edition of the Romford Gazette came with a promotion for 50p off the Mail on Sunday, which is owned by Northcliffe’s parent company Daily Mail and General Trust.
