Team 4: City Slickers
Dallas Morning News
Allan Houston
Summary
• A weekly print edition of staff and reader-generated content that complements an online presence for an un-served community
Target Audience
• South Dallas, a community of about 200,00 people; mostly African-American
Goals
• To provide coverage for an underserved community
• Currently underserved by all local media; no current full-time Metro beat at DMN
Mechanics
• Build awareness of the website with local churches, civic groups, schools, neighborhood associations and community colleges
• Educate them about the benefits of posting content to neighborsgo
• Use online content to publish a weekly print edition that, combined with in-house editorial, goes out in the Saturday DMN
Mechanics, Cont’d.
• A simple tool at the top of the page where readers can upload contributions
• Modules for reader-submitted stories, photos, blogs, forums, events and faith (church events)
washingtonpost.com
Dave Marino-Nachison
Summary
• An online community that targets the Spanish-speaking populations of Alexandria and Arlington, Va.
Target Audience
• Would like to target the Spanish-speaking immigrant community in the suburbs
• Chose Alexandria/Arlington specifically as a place where there is a large-number of immigrants but also where their experience is less commonly framed in divisive terms
Goals
• Associate local Spanish-speakers with the post.com brand and content
• Position the website to benefit from growth in bilingual readers in coming years
Mechanics
• Under a separate, Post-associated URL, create a blog headed by a local journalist focusing on relevant community issues
• Provide platform for user-generated content and commentary; find “real-world” ways to take in content, such as through voicemail and text messaging
Mechanics, Cont’d.
• Offer tools for distributing Jobs classifieds for Spanish speakers (text and e-mail alerts)
• Host a weekly, web-based news and events-based radio program that encourages live feedback
• Free classifieds listings
New York Post
Cassie Carothers
Summary
• To offer borough-specific content centers that combine news coverage and resources
Target Audience
• Current readers looking for more detailed coverage of their communities
Goals
• To grow the audience by providing useful content organized in a single place
Mechanics
• Daily news from the day’s paper and our network of borough-based weeklies
• Police blotter info by borough, rather than our current roundup, plus a link to municipal database
• Traffic and transit component, including a message board and other UGC (transit updates, etc.)
Mechanics, Cont’d.
• Borough-based blogs; find established writers that cover communities while also referring readers to other leading blogs in the community
• Weather
• Entertainment calendar and restaurant listings
Chicago Tribune
Lara Weber
Summary
• A bilingual source of parenting information for busy Chicago-area parents
Target Audience
• Parents (both mothers and fathers)
• Bilingual readers; the growing Hispanic community
Goals
• To reach bilingual readers, a growing community in Chicagoland
• To leverage an existing organizational focus on the parenting community
Mechanics
• Develop pages on chicagotribune.com and hoyinternet.com that would be utility-focused
• Links to databases of parent resources
School information
Community information
Mechanics, Cont’d
• Pick up all current parent and family-related content from Tribune, Hoy, and other Tribune-owned media outlets
• Develop bilingual parenting blog with writers from both Hoy and the Tribune
• Create the opportunity for online communities to grow through forums and message boards