Seattle Takes the Lead on Hyperlocal Journalism
by Matt on Aug 28, 2009 in Industry
I’ve read somewhere that Brooklyn has more than 1,000 local blogs in its relatively small confines, but sheer quantity aside, there’s a lot going on in Seattle lately that I think puts the city way out in front where local blogging/journalism is concerned.
For starters, the Seattle Times and four hyperlocal blogs in Seattle announced an agreement this week that, depending on the details, could be unprecedented. I know for sure that it’s unprecendented for a major newspaper to start using words like “journalism” and “professionals” when discussing local bloggers:
Kathy Best, managing editor with responsibility for seattletimes.com, said the sites are among the leading neighborhood newsgathering operations in Seattle, staffed by professionals who share The Times’ journalistic values.
Suki Dardarian, managing editor of The Times’ print editions, said, “We’re thrilled to be part of building something that can help this community and at the same time contribute to the profession of journalism.”
That’s quite a change from the “local blogs have no journalistic value” attitude and the lack of respect that even the Washington state legislature has shown toward local blogs.
But all snarkiness aside, this is big news. The agreement basically says the paper and the four local blogs will share news tips, help each other with newsgathering, and link back and forth when appropriate. There are also some hints in there that both sides are making up some of this as they go along.
It’ll be interesting to watch how the long-time readers of the local blogs respond to this. I don’t read any of the four religiously (since I don’t live there), but my impression has always been that these hyperlocal blogs are almost anti-establishment in the sense of, We don’t need big media. You don’t need big media. We can do this ourselves just fine, thank you very much. Sure enough, in the comments on a MyBallard.com post (that’s one of the four blogs in the partnership), after a mostly positive reaction from readers, there are a few who don’t like it and fear what the partnership may mean for their beloved local blog. I’d say that’s to be expected.
Also interesting reading is outside.in’s take on the agreement. They question why the partnership only lasts one year, and why it only involves four local blogs in such a thriving hyperlocal news/blogging city.
What else is happening in Seattle?
The Seattle P-I recently launched its own hyperlocal blog, the unfortunately-named In Queen Anne. (Queene Anne is a Seattle neighborhood, but still….) It’s a direct competitor to the existing, and much better named Queen Anne View blog.
But wait! There’s more! Seattle’s KOMO-TV and its parent company, Fisher Communications, launched 43 hyperlocal sites earlier this month, too. There’s a full list here, and as you can plainly see, the KOMO sites compete with … well … just about every independent neighborhood blogger in Seattle.
So, yeah, hyperlocal blogging is going nuts over in Seattle. But notice that all three pieces of news I’ve listed above are about what big companies/organizations are doing to get hyperlocal from the top down. I stand completely behind my earlier post that Hyperlocal Sites are Best Done from the Bottom Up.
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9 Responses to “Seattle Takes the Lead on Hyperlocal Journalism”
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Wow…very interesting developments…I’ll watch for more news on this Matt as you report same. But the mere linking of old-world journalism with hyperlocal blogging is IMHO, staggering! THIS is a development that I think may just be a media-disruptor that should be followed by all….
Jim
I am stunned at the lack of commentary here in Seattle on this old media/new media “affiliation.” When I commented on this on my blog, I got disclaimers from both The Times and from one of the affiliated local blogs. Their point is that no content will be shared (except for an occasional photo) and that only links are involved,as well as story ideas. It is not true that all (or even most) of the local blogs in Seattle are anti-establishment. I think the principal issue for us the lack of neighborhood news coverage. The affiliated blogs certainly see the opportunity to get their stories out to more people in their neighborhoods through the connection with The Times. I see how the Times benefits, but with regard to the blogs benefiting, we shall see.
Very interesting. How does one begin even ranking or organizing 1,000 local blogs in one area? Hyper local bloggers are going to bring the crushing blow to traditional newspapers, not Google News like everyone thinks. The business model of a traditional newspaper is completely broken.
Im developing a hyperlocal blog in an area that is in need of an official local news outlet. The Cool Springs TN area, surrounding the Cool Springs Galleria, is not an actual town, but mader up of the cities of Franklin and Brentwood Tennessee. Having said that, the Cool Springs area holds 194 choices for lunch, 2500 hotel rooms and three million square feet more office space than downtown Nashville. The local newspaper reports mainly on things for 50+ demographics and even those people are growing tired of what they have been spoon fed all these years.
Working to launch a community hyperlocal blog to serve a Seattle neighborhood has been an educational experience for our team. From reaction of other bloggers, to our ability to deeply cover important stories and filter through the flotsam – it is an interesting industry. No question that big corporation TV and the newspapers have gotten a quick interest in using the hyperlocal bloggers to cut their “old school” journalism costs. That said – there is a way that the small bloggers and the bigger companies can work together to cover what are truly uneconomic levels of scale – efficiently.
Hey Andy – thx for leaving a comment. Sounds like you’re going through some interesting experiences over there. If you’re interested in writing a guest post about it here on Hyperlocal Blogger, drop me a line. (Contact link up above.)
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