UK’s Guardian Newspaper is Going Hyperlocal

by Matt on Oct 12, 2009 in Industry

guardian logoSpotted on paidcontent.co.uk: Guardian Hiring Bloggers For Local News Network

The Guardian, a UK newspaper, is looking to hire local bloggers for a hyperlocal effort that will launch next year. The full job description is posted online:

The successful candidate will be a confident blogger, know their yelps from their tweets, have a passion for local news and understand how to build relationships with the local community. A journalism qualification is desirable but not essential.

Working from your home, or anywhere with WiFi, as a ‘beatblogger’ you will lead the Guardian’s innovative approach to community news coverage in Leeds.

This will include reporting on local meetings and events with an emphasis on local political decision making, identifying issues of importance to local residents and signposting information and news provided via other sources. You will be willing to collaborate with others to create a vital resource for the city.

Paidcontent UK also says these will be “properly paid positions,” which is stark contrast to the Seattle P-I’s effort earlier this year to hire and train local bloggers on a volunteer basis — a decision that sparked a fair bit of protest.

It’s interesting to watch major newspapers lining up to get their hyperlocal ducks in a row, but I remain convinced that Hyperlocal Sites are Best Done from the Bottom Up.

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October 12, 2009 | Filed Under Industry 

Comments

2 Responses to “UK’s Guardian Newspaper is Going Hyperlocal”

  1. Kaitlin Janusz on October 12th, 2009 3:45 pm

    I agree with your general assessment that hyperlocal blogs are better from the bottom up, but there’s something about this job description that makes me happy. It takes a person who actually cares about hyperlocal issues to apply in the first place, and the idea of paying these people like journalists will give them the time to really work on the blogs (unlike hyperlocal bloggers who often are working full time jobs and trying to blog on the side).

    It’s a far cry from the forced local blogging that happens at the J-school at UC Berkeley. It doesn’t matter if those students care, they have to blog for school, and they’re not getting paid. I imagine that doesn’t go over very well.

    Thanks for the tip though, I’ll be sure to check out the blogs and see if they have a ring of sincerity.

  2. links for 2009-12-09 « New media, travel & tourism on December 9th, 2009 12:30 pm

    [...] UK’s Guardian Newspaper is Going Hyperlocal [...]

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