‘Hyperlocal’ Web Sites Deliver News Without Newspapers - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/technology/start-ups/13hyperlocal.html

Placeblogger, a Bryght/Raincity Studios site, gets a mention at the beginning in a New York times article.

Just as some cities’ newspapers sputter, a handful of Web sites emerge to cull local content from government data, blogs and news media.

One hurdle is the need for reliable, quality content. The information on many of these sites can still appear woefully incomplete. Crime reports on EveryBlock, for example, are short on details of what happened. Links to professionally written news articles on Outside.in are mixed with trivial and sometimes irrelevant blog posts. That raises the question of what these hyperlocal sites will do if newspapers, a main source of credible information, go out of business. “They rely on pulling data from other sources, so they really can’t function if news organizations disappear,” said Steve Outing, who writes about online media for Editor & Publisher Online. But many hyperlocal entrepreneurs say they are counting on a proliferation of blogs and small local journalism start-ups to keep providing content.

If your local newspaper shuts down, what will take the place of its coverage? Perhaps a package of information about your neighborhood, or even your block, assembled by a computer. A number of Web start-up companies are creating so-called hyperlocal news sites that let people zoom in on what is happening closest to them, often without involving traditional journalists.

If your local newspaper shuts down, what will take the place of its coverage? Perhaps a package of information about your neighborhood, or even your block, assembled by a computer.

business models for journalists, courtesy of CUNY and Jeff Jarvis

CUNY: "We have developed four business models for a new news ecosystem. The question we attempt to answer: What happens to journalism in a top-25 metro market if a newspaper fades away. Can journalism be sustained? And how?"

We have developed four business models for a new news ecosystem. The question we attempt to answer: What happens to journalism in a top-25 metro market if a newspaper fades away. Can journalism be sustained? And how?

Mark Glaser provides eight tips on how to create a community hub for local information that aggregates it all in one online source. His tips include cracking open government data and access and bringing stake-holders together for face-to-face discussion.

Breaking News Site Info

Great outline of an approach to public information and community hubs; picks up from the Power of Information approach

Mark Josephson, the CEO of local news platform Outside.in, figures the local, online-only newspaper of tomorrow, for a decent-sized city, will have a staff of 20 people. That’s 20 people, period. Perhaps six of them will be “news gatherers.”

P&L put together by Mark Josephson (CEO outside.in) explaining how future newspapers will survive by using services like "outside.in for publishers"

Interesting piece on the business of local news sites, and how you should be doing them now. Interesting.

The pitch: Outside.in wants to help local news sites by supplying them with a river of extra content created by local bloggers, Twitterers and lots of people who don’t even think of themselves as content creators, like people who post real estate listings. The local site is supposed to aggregate and filter the stuff and sell ads on it. The people supplying the content get more exposure via links from the bigger site.

Hyperlocal news projects that start tiny have a greater chance of success – but many find themselves with more kudos than cash

Hyperlokale Nachrichtenprojekte sprießen derzeit wie Pilze aus dem Boden. Doch haben sie eine echte Chance? Diese Fragen gehen Jemima Kiss und Heather Christie für den Guardian nach.

Gran análisis sobre periodismo ciudadano en GB por parte del blog de medio de The Guardian

Jemima Kiss and Heather Christie/The Guardian, June 14, 2010.

"Would you trust a citizen brain surgeon?" This was a common refrain in 2005, as the news industry grappled with citizen journalism and the implications of a new technologically empowered public. But many of the most promising and worthy projects have vapourised. While the concept seems admirable, and experimentation valuable, it is invariably the finances that just don't work. So is there any viable commercial future? The "citizen journalism" label has been largely unhelpful. The most exciting developments now might be news, but the content is often closer to community activism. Many are finally beginning to tap into the growing resources of community tech tools, from FixMyStreet.com to a wave of civic-minded apps, such as those developed by Social Innovation Camp.

Hyperlocal news projects that start tiny have a greater chance of success – but many find themselves with more kudos than cash

Hyperlokale Nachrichtenprojekte sprießen derzeit wie Pilze aus dem Boden. Doch haben sie eine echte Chance? Diese Fragen gehen Jemima Kiss und Heather Christie für den Guardian nach.

Gran análisis sobre periodismo ciudadano en GB por parte del blog de medio de The Guardian

Jemima Kiss and Heather Christie/The Guardian, June 14, 2010.

"Would you trust a citizen brain surgeon?" This was a common refrain in 2005, as the news industry grappled with citizen journalism and the implications of a new technologically empowered public. But many of the most promising and worthy projects have vapourised. While the concept seems admirable, and experimentation valuable, it is invariably the finances that just don't work. So is there any viable commercial future? The "citizen journalism" label has been largely unhelpful. The most exciting developments now might be news, but the content is often closer to community activism. Many are finally beginning to tap into the growing resources of community tech tools, from FixMyStreet.com to a wave of civic-minded apps, such as those developed by Social Innovation Camp.