Hyperlocal journalism

Hyperlocal Journalism Hyperlocal Journalism Hyperlocal journalism is also known as micro local journalism. According to Rodgers (2014), the term is used with reference to the coverage of various topics and events on a regional scale that is extremely small. For instance, there are those websites that only focus on a particular neighborhood. At times, they go as far as covering a particular section of block within a single area.
Through hyperlocal journalism, news that are ignored by the larger and mainstream media outlets are highlighted. Most of the outlets tend to follow the most interesting stories that are related to citywide, regional or statewide audience.
A proper example of a hyperlocal journalism site is the inclusion of an article about a baseball team that is found within the local little league. It may also include conducting an interview with a veteran who took part in the Second World War and lives within the region. In addition, the sale of a home along the street also forms part of the hyperlocal news and journalism (Fidgerald, 2010).
Business model
The biggest challenge that is faced by hyperlocal journalists is the funding and hence the ability to sustain the model. However, each day, there are new models that are being developed alongside the present ones. One of them is the advertising-only model.
A good example is the Post-gazette, which in the year 2011 was launched by a pilot in Sheffield, as one of the startups that were ad-funded. It still possesses a twitter, Facebook and Website links. However, they are no longer operational. It indicates that the model, which was aiming at delivering hyperlocal news at broader perspective across the nation was responsible for much smaller areas. The whole idea was supposed to be done with the use of mobile devices, which were produced by numerous publishers.
In general, it is important to have at least one publisher for every 5, 000 people rather than one person covering a single town or a handful of people covering one town. Also, there should be a particular target amount for a single place. However, one of the challenges that will be experienced with this strategy is the lack of enough skills among the people (Craft & Davis, 2013).
Successful businesses
This model of business possesses varying degrees of success. Initially, it was thought to be an innovative way through which the information that is often ignored by the local newspapers is brought to the members of the community. However, hyperlocal journalism happens especially at a time when most of the news outlets are laying off their journalist and reducing the amount of coverage (Show, 2007).
They also include some of the large media companies that were involved in the hyperlocal wave. For instance, MSNBC. com acquired the hyperlocal startup Every Block while AOL purchased two sites; Patch and Going in the year 2009. Nonetheless, the long-term impact of hyperlocal journalism is still not yet clear. Most of these sites operate on a very tight budget since they make very little money (Thomas, Waldram & Walker, 2013). In addition, most of the revenues are derived from the sales of ads towards the local businesses. A vast number of them are not able to afford the kind of advertisement performed by the larger and mainstream news outlets. For this reason, there have been some apparent failures. It is an indication that hyperlocal journalism is still a project in progress (Rodgers, 2014).
References
Craft, S., & Davis, N. C. (2013). Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction. NewYork: Routledge.
Fitzgerald, M. (2010). ” McHyperlocal: A Plan to Franchise Community News”. Editor &Publisher. Retrieved 14 November 2014
Rogers, T. (2014). What is Hyperlocal Journalism? Sites That Focus On Areas Often Ignored byLarger News Outlets. Retrieved 14 November 2014 fromhttp://journalism. about. com/od/citizenjournalism/a/hyperlocal. htm
Shaw, D. (2007). ” Really Local”. American Journalism Review. Retrieved 14 November 2014
Thomas, M., Waldram, H., & Walker, E. (2013). Connected: The power of modern community. New York: The Guardian.