Posts Tagged ‘hyperlocal’
Posted by jessdrkn on April 30, 2011
Location: Larchmont/Mamaroneck/Lower Westchester County, New York City area 
Focus: News, Features, Op-Ed, Real Estate, Milestones, and Sports, Pets, Kids, Obituaries sections, etc. in Sound Shore area in New York City suburbs; Spanish-language section called En El Circulo
Started: 2007
Metrics: 8,000 hits a day, 35,000 visitors per month from coverage area
Staff: editor/publisher Polly Kreisman, who is also co-editor of investigative journalism site InvestigateNY and has a background in broadcast media; co-editor Dian Marszalek, a former New York Times and Associated Press reporter
Funding: advertising
Site: theloopny.com
From About:
mission statement:
theLoop endeavors to unite its readers with local information through professional journalism and new technologies to create community.
theLoop is:
- since 2007, an on-line newspaper serving larchmont, mamaroneck, and lower westchester county.
- a powerful platform for readers to report news and express opinions.
- editorial content driven by journalists whose experience runs deep and whose respect for journalistic integrity runs deeper.
- the number one local news site by traffic in westchester county (analytics available)
Sample stories: “Scarsdale woman scammed at ATM”; “Arbor Day in New Rochelle”; “Puppy tips: Housebreaking 101″ part of pet adoption section; “Mamaroneck lacrosse edges Bronxville”; “Local efforts for Japan”; “What they’re reading” (Public library staff recommendations)
Posted in New York | Tagged: advertising, community news, hyperlocal, journalists, Larchmont, lower Westchester County, Mamaroneck, New York City, Polly Kreisman, regional, suburbs, The Loop, TheLoopyNY | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on April 30, 2011
Location: New Orleans 
Focus: “News Politics Crime Events” in Garden District and Carolltown areas of New Orleans, but follows news citywide; Special feature: NolaWiki, “the contextual arm of NoLaMessenger.com”; The Wiki was formed to archive stories and information from the primary news site
Started: September 2010
Staff: publishers Robert Morris and Sabree Hill, former traditional media journalists; they use Society of Professional Journalists ethical reporting standards for their site
Funding: advertising, donations, will begin membership program; site is part of parent company Nola Messenger
Site: uptownmessenger.com
From About:
UptownMessenger.com is a local, independent online source of news, commerce and knowledge for Uptown New Orleans that had its formal launch in September 2010.
Every day at UptownMessenger.com, you’ll find neighborhood-level coverage of government and politics, crime, business and community events. We will tell the stories of Uptown New Orleans and its people through traditional articles and photos, as well as extensive use of the video and live-blogging made possible by the Internet.
…
The primary coverage area of UptownMessenger.com runs roughly from the Garden District and Carrollton, but we’ll cover news of interest to our readers wherever it takes place.
Sample stories: “36 hours Uptown: Government meetings and cultural events”; “6th District’s anti-crime march: ‘I felt very safe with all the officers around me’”; “Former NOCCA school sold for $2.5 million to developers who ‘just wanted to save the building’”; “Proposed Lower Garden District film studio ekes out planning commission approval”
Media mentions: Gambit: Best of New Orleans article, “Reporting from your block… Kevin Allman on Uptown Messenger, a hyperlocal news site that is at the forefront of a big trend in journalism”
Posted in Louisiana | Tagged: advertising, donations, former legacy media reporters, hyperlocal, hyperlocal news, journalists, Louisiana, memberships, New Orleans, reporters, Society of Professional Journalists, SPJ, Uptown Messenger, wiki | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on April 17, 2010
Location: New Hartford, Connecticut 
Focus: “Linking our community”; information categories include Around NH, Letters/Commentary, Meetings Around Town, News Updates; extensive blogroll of civic groups, municipal offices
Started: January 2009 (archive established)
Staff: all volunteer; Maria Moore is editor, main reporter, photographer; Bob Moore for technical support on the web; other contributors are an at-large reporter and an ad sales person
Funding: advertising sales
Site: newhartfordplus.com
From About Us:
The NewHartfordPlus crew members are New Hartford residents who volunteer their time to report for NewHartfordPlus. They do this because they recognize the community-building potential of an independent, locally-run news medium. Crew members’ reports bring New Hartford news and New Hartford happenings to the New Hartford community.
Sample stories: “Town meeting approves date, wording of referendum”; “Debbie Ventre receives ‘Extraordinary Volunteer’ award”; “Full-time custodian position available: New Hartford schools”; “Wanted: Pinewood Derby sponsors
Posted in Connecticut | Tagged: advertising, community news, Connecticut, hyperlocal, Maria Moore, New Hartford, NewHartfordPlus | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on April 3, 2010
Location: Ithaca, New York 
Focus: the “Ithaca Indy” independent community news outlet serving Ithaca, in upstate New York; information categories include City, Life, Crime, Business, Sports, Opinion, Resources
Started: January 2010
Staff: founded by Ed Sutherland, a 20-year journalist; request for contributors
Site: ithacaindy.com
From About:
The goal is to bring news coverage closer to the citizens through numerous avenues, including Twitter and Facebook. Although we embrace modern technology, we remain steadfast in publishing quality journalism, following traditional practices. This is not a blog, where commentary mixes with fact. Nor is it an amateurish enterprise. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and hope our readers will keep us on our toes. Opinion is limited to the opinion pages.
Sample stories: “Ithaca Police Make Check Forgery Arrest”; “Ithaca College Names Park School Dean”; “‘Shock Doctrine’ Author to Visit Ithaca”; “Ithaca Elementary School Among Food SafetyViolators”; “Airport Receives $336k FAA Grant”
Posted in New York | Tagged: community news, hyperlocal, Ithaca Independent, Ithaca Indie, New York | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on February 20, 2010
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan 
Focus: “Everybody has a hand in thinking”; a neighborhood blog — community events coverage, crime updates
Started: June 2008
Staff: founded and edited by resident Laura Adams; contributor solicitation
Funding: no apparent traditional funding (advertising, grants)
Site: villagethinker.wordpress.com
From About:
The Village Thinker is a community news resource. The Village Thinker is the new media. It is an Internet news source, but it isn’t an electronic newspaper. Yet.
Print is dead, I went to the funeral almost 10 years ago. It was nice, CNN sent a beautiful wreath. Unfortunately, it wasn’t considered news. Most likely because it coincided with the christening of the Internet as the New Media.
The Village Thinker exists because we have no unfiltered crime and gang-related news in our community, and people are tired of reading propaganda that is sanitized for our protection. Or for the protection of the people who need to cover up what they did wrong. We are tired of being kept in the dark.
The Village Thinker is underground news, because even a small town needs an underground media outlet.
Sample posts: “Second bank robbery this month”; “Crimewatch committed to continuing the struggle”; “IFPTI receives substantial funding in 2011 Federal budget”; “Ann J. Kellogg students Stomp for Peace”
Posted in Michigan | Tagged: Battle Creek, community news blog, hyperlocal, Michigan, neigborhood | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on February 15, 2010
Location: Burien, Washington (10 miles south of Seattle) 
Focus: local news and information around Burien, community news; information categories include arts, entertainment, features stories, crime, events, headlines, humor, jobs, opinion, life
Started: 2008
Staff: Scott Shaefer is founder, publisher, editor; plus 8 staff, including writer/marketing person, two reporters, photographer, intern
Funding: LLC business LOLDudez.com, a network of five other local blogs; heavy local advertising, business promotion
Site: b-townblog.com
From About:
We love Burien. And we’re not ashamed to say it.
That’s because we live here.
We work here.
We shop here.
The B-Town (Burien) Blog is your only daily-updated, totally independent, truly-local online news source for all things Burien-related…
Sample posts: “Hit & Run Victim Jeff Kearney Released From Rehab, Now Back Home”; “B-Town Undercover: A Burienite Makes Friends At The Winter Olympics”; “Councilmember Refutes Seattle Times Columnist Over White Center Annexation”; “Wine & Food Line-Ups Announced For Poverty Bay Wine Festival”
Posted in Washington state | Tagged: advertising, B-town Blog, blog network, Burien, community news, hyperlocal, LLC, LOLDudez, Seattle area, washington | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on December 31, 2009
Location: Davidson, North Carolina 
Focus: news in Davidson, a town about 20 miles north of Charlotte, NC; offers news, opinion, classifieds, sports, arts, calendar, ”shopping”, multi-media, real estate, “Beyond Davidson”, “Health & Fitness”, obituaries, “Worship” sections. One of five community/neighborhood news sites near Charlotte chosen in 2009 to partner with legacy media outlet Charlotte Observer through a $45,000 J-Lab grant
Started: 2006
Staff: Founded and edited by David Boraks, a former print reporter and editor who worked for mostly major Connecticut newspapers; there is also a publisher, website designer/manager, a few reporters, a columnist, and volunteer contributors
Funding: LLC business — relies on donations, sponsors, advertising, see here
Site: davidsonnews.net
From About Us:
DavidsonNews.net is a community news website established in late 2006 to share information and promote discussion about town news, events, and issues in the town of Davidson, N.C. It is owned by Davidson News LLC and managed by and for Davidson residents. We’re a combination of paid staff and volunteers. Join our email list by entering your email address in the box at right.
Sample stories: “Christmas burglary in River Run; police on alert tonight”; “Freshman scores 22 as Davidson women beat Newberry”; “Home sales listed; region’s home prices fell in Oct.”; “Remembering those who left us in 2009″, from local Obituaries
Media mentions: Charlotte Observer story “Observer partner’s focus is local news”; see here for Davidsonnews.net’s roundup of media mentions — they have been spotlighted by entrepreneurial journalism advocates, articles on hyperlocal news
Posted in North Carolina | Tagged: Charlotte, Charlotte Observer, full-service community news, hyperlocal, J-Lab, legacy news partner, North Carolina | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on December 6, 2009
Location: Corona Del Mar, California 
Focus: news from a Southern California beach community, in Orange County: “Our mission is to provide solid news coverage of the village of Corona del Mar in a timely, fair and accurate [manner]; mostly original reporting; links to Orange County Register (daily paper of record) for other local news; blogroll of links to civic groups and municipal resources
Started: March 2009
Staff: Founder Amy Senck, see below, is a Corona Del Mar resident, freelance writer and a former newspaper reporter
Funding:
Site: coronadelmartoday.com
From About:
Corona del Mar Today was born out of the desire to bring daily journalism coverage to our community, which is small enough to be overlooked by bigger publications but interesting enough to need its own voice.
Its founder, Amy Senk, was educated at the University of Missouri, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1989. She spent several years as a beat reporter in Kansas City before moving to California in 1992. She has lived in Corona del Mar since 2000 and is a freelance writer and journalist.
Sample stories: “Quiet Woman [restaurant] holding auction today”; “Stolen watch returned after savvy police work”; “Local football team going to youth superbowl”; photo gallery of Christmas Walk
Posted in California | Tagged: advertising, California, Corona del Mar, hyperlocal | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on November 4, 2009
Location: Nassau County, New York (Long Island) 
Focus: news and information covering Hempstead, Uniondale, Roosevelt, and Garden City municipalities; heavy multimedia; sections include news, business, politics, sports, features, and religion
Started: February 2009
Staff: student project of Hofstra University School of Communication undergraduate and graduate journalism program led by Assistant Professor Mo Krochmal
Funding: university
Site: nassaunewslive.com
From About Us
Located in Dempster Hall, Nassau News Live starts with the goal of creating a trusted serious news website and fostering new connections between Hofstra and the people living in the surrounding communities while enhancing the education of journalism students with the opportunity to work in a 21st Century news organization.
Students will collaborate to produce and report area news in real time with a combination of pressure-tested live blogging and live video webcasting as well as multimedia interactive news packages, information graphics and digital and still photography.
Sample Stories: “Supporters, Staffers of Nassau County Democratic Party Celebrate, Wallow, and Wait on Election Night”; “Mayor Hall discusses Village of Hempstead’s waning recession”; “Restaurant servers finding a tough economy”; “Unofficial Nassau County election results”; “Nassau County high school football playoffs announced”
Posted in New York | Tagged: academia, community news, Hofstra University, hyperlocal, Long Island, multimedia, Nassau County, New York, student project | Leave a Comment »
Posted by jessdrkn on October 11, 2009
Location: Seattle 
Focus: municipal, neighbhorhood news in West Seattle neighborhoods, including accidents, crime, local information; links to West Seattle bloggers; calendar listings; traffic cams; public forums; collaborates with Seattle Times on community coverage
Started: 2005 as casual community observation blog; 2007, news concentration, began accepting advertising
Staff: 2-person startup - co-publishers Tracy Record, editor, and Patrick Sand, business development director (“the sales guy”); 6 contributing reporters
Funding: advertising
Site: westseattleblog.com
From About
We started this in late 2005 with the intention of it just being a little place where we could spout our observations about what’s happening in our rapidly changing community. In the early months, it was a lot more personal, written first person, with a lot more opinion. Then something unexpected started to happen — we began to hear from West Seattle residents looking for information they couldn’t find anywhere else, particularly during the December 2006 windstorm and ensuing days of powerlessness, when thousands of us were sitting in cold dark homes without any official information on when our electricity would be restored. That was a turning point for us, toward a focus more on community news and information, updated frequently, and throughout 2007, and now on into 2008, that focus intensifies day by day.
Sample stories: “Update: Car hits pole, SW Barton closed west of Westwood Village”; ”Video: Human, canine volunteers finish up new Westcrest feature”; “Next chance to help library supporters fight more budget cuts”
Posted in Washington state | Tagged: advertising, blog, hyperlocal, neighborhood, newspaper collaborations, seattle, washington | Leave a Comment »
