The Dealis.com’s Future Is Bright, As Long As People Can Type
Ok, I know some might say I’m guilty of plagerism here, but this isn’t plagerism. I’m copying and pasting. So there. Read and learn. The future of sites like this are so bright we gotta wear shades:
Future of online news may be ‘hyperlocal’
(CNN) — On a recent morning, when many newspapers and news sites were buzzing about swine flu, voiceofsandiego.org wrote instead about a local science professor and his quest to understand the beginning of the universe. The swine flu story was nowhere to be found.
A new crop of “hyperlocal” news sites is surfacing online to fill the void left by failing news organizations.
To some news junkies, it may seem like the nonprofit news site missed the big story of the day. But this intentional omission fits right in with the independent publication’s values.
It also indicates what the future of local news may hold.
“We don’t cover anything unless it’s squarely about San Diego, even national trend stories and stuff like that, we tend to steer away from,” said Andy Donohue, the outlet’s editor.
“Especially the way things are going right now on the Internet, you’ve got to be really focused on doing something really well — and if you try to spread yourself too thin, you’re not doing anything well.”
With many newspapers ailing, there’s been a steady drumbeat of layoffs at major news organizations — nearly 25,000 jobs have been lost at papers since 2008, according to Paper Cuts, a blog that tracks the layoffs.
But a relatively new crop of “hyperlocal” news sites is growing into the void left by failing news organizations. Most of the hyperlocal sites focus exclusively on a community in a tight geographic area. Some are trying to find new ways to fund the news, since nearly all online information is free. They’re also experimenting with unconventional ways of gathering the news: Several nonprofit news sites publish reports from volunteer reporters who are active in the neighborhoods they cover.
Other sites, such as EveryBlock.com, aggregate news on a block-by-block basis. EveryBlock.com pulls in government documents — health inspections, building permits and crime reports — as well as news articles and photos from sites such as Flickr to make news feeds with an extreme local focus.
And, with mixed success, some former newspaper reporters have banded together to create new, online publications. For example, some former employees of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which ceased print publication, formed the Seattle PostGlobe online.
Generally, the people who run hyperlocal Web sites say they are optimistic about the future of the news business. They say they won’t be able to replace all that’s being lost as large news companies crumble but say they are excited about the fact that they’re able to offer something new — at least for the moment.
It is crucial for people to try out new ways to tell and fund stories, said David Cohn, founder of Spot.Us, a San Francisco, California, site where visitors fund specific investigative story pitches.
“I am optimistic about the future of journalism provided that we have lots and lots of different startups,” he said. “I think what journalism needs is 10,000 different startups.” <end of plagerism>
Ok, I’m back… This site can go places. If enough people want to fill a need. And based on how bad the print version of The News Tribune has been looking lately (both in terms of formatting and overall quality) I’d say this site has nowhere to go but up. Hey, I’d love to quit my day job and make money being a blogger. As long as I have windows to look out of. And plenty of beef jerkey.
If you want the obligatory link to the whole story, it is here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/05/01/future.online.news.hyperlocal/index.html?iref=t2test_techtues
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