What Is Hyperlocal Journalism

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What is hyperlocal journalism?

• A form of “citizen journalism” that focuses on local stories vs. national events.

• Can come from established news organizations or people outside of journalism establishment.

• Isn’t always “news” in the traditional sense.

Many different styles of hyperlocal

• Citizen-run enterprises

• Professional journalism

• Hybrid citizen/professional

• Aggregators

• Solo sites

• Aggregators

• Solo sites

• Legacy media

Various sites fill particular needsof communities

• 1) Need for coverage in areas neglected by mainstream media

• 2)Detailed coverage of an issue or subject

• 3) Desire to share information and have dialogue with community

Choosing the CMS

• First considerations:

• 1) who will be using the site?

• 2) can it be customized if necessary?

• 3) can you upload video or audio?

• 4) discussion section?

• 5) can it grow with you?

Commonly used CMS for hyperlocal

• Wordpress

• Moveable Type (more than Typepad

• Drupal

• Joomla

• Scoopt

• Proprietary CMS

Who writes these sites?

• Different levels of participation depending on the site

• Citizens Welcome!

• Some sites have small staff of professionals and/or train citizens

• Comments only

How do they find you?

• Google loves small sites!

• Use some old fashioned word-of-mouth marketing techniques—target “talkers” or “influencers,” giveaways

Do they make $$

• Yes…some are starting to make money

Do they make $$

• Yes…some are starting to make money

• Some have gone bust (Backfence.com)

• Others struggle

• Others don’t care to make money

• Money-making ability varies from region to region

What Is Hyperlocal Journalism

Education