Who’ll replace local newspapers?

by Matt on Mar 31, 2009 in Industry

(I sometimes fear that the conversation here on Hyperlocal Blogger is focused too much on hyperlocal news and what’s going on around us with so many newspapers struggling. After all, local news blogs are just one of my 5 types of local bloggers. I don’t mean to ignore the other types, but we’re in a cycle now where the news industry and news bloggers are carrying the conversation. Apologies if this isn’t of interest; hopefully, you appreciate the importance of this topic even if it doesn’t directly apply to your blog.)

Reason magazine’s Jesse Walker writes a great article about the ongoing demise of many newspapers, which we’ve talked about plenty here on HLB. He also suggests four places to get local information after the newspaper goes away:

  1. The gadflies. (“No truthful list of local sources can exclude this guy. When he isn’t watching lawmakers, he’s on the phone with reporters, urging them to cover some story that eluded their attention.”)
  2. The activists. (“Like the independent gadfly, these organized gadflies often uncover the stories that eventually make their way into the morning newspaper.”)
  3. The insiders. (“It’s also possible to get information directly from the interested institutions. The EveryBlock website, a fascinating online experiment, offers “microlocal” coverage of individual city blocks….”)
  4. The neighbors. (“Every community has its own channels of information, though these are often invisible to outsiders.”)

I particularly like Timothy Lee’s thoughts on Walker’s article: “…a few thousand newspaper reporters can’t possibly cover the news as thoroughly as millions of Internet-empowered individuals can. This isn’t to disparage the reporters and editors, who tend to be smart and dedicated. It’s just that they’re vastly outnumbered. As Jesse Walker points out, any news gathering strategy that doesn’t incorporate the contributions of amateurs is going to be left in the dust by those that do.”

Again, apologies to the non-news local bloggers in the reader’s chair. I hope that you can see how this stuff reinforces the value of what you’re doing as a local blogger, even if it doesn’t directly to your specific blog. I promise to keep sharing tips and ideas for all local bloggers as often as possible, and I welcome your thoughts in the comments.

You might also like:

  1. Newspapers Put Less Than Half of Hyperlocal News Online
  2. How Long Will Print Newspapers Last?


March 31, 2009 | Filed Under Industry 

Comments

3 Responses to “Who’ll replace local newspapers?”

  1. Frank Reed on March 31st, 2009 9:27 pm

    Matt,

    I have not been able to keep up with this endeavor of yours. Wow! This is great stuff.

    I can certainly see the value of the hyper local approach and your development of the concept is going to help a lot of SMB’s.

    Just wanted to encourage you to keep up the great work.

  2. NY Times: ‘Environment is right’ for hyperlocal news on April 12th, 2009 8:08 pm

    [...] too long, but still makes a good introduction to some of the big picture issues we’ve been talking about here on Hyperlocal Blogger — mainly, what happens to local news if/when the local paper shuts [...]

  3. Richard Millington on April 13th, 2009 12:52 pm

    This is an easy question.

    You will.

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