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Hyper-Local News: Why is it important?

Started 1 year ago by blogowitz
Latest reply from Kevin

blogowitz
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Hello, my name is Gary Moskowitz, and I'm writing a story about hyper-local news sites for a national magazine. I'd love to get some feedback from regular readers of the West Seattle Blog about why you think locally-focused news sites are important.

1. Why, in this time of globalization and worldwide communication, are more and more people turning to hyperlocal news? What’s the draw for you to get news from a site like West Seattle Blog?

2. Ihen a hyperlocal site is bought by a bigger news organization, does it cease to fulfil its original purpose?

3. What do you get from a hyper-local site like the West Seattle Blog that you can’t get from any other? Why do you care what’s going on in your local communities?

Thanks very much for your input. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Posted 1 year ago #
bebecat
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There was a time when we had local radio. Those local radio stations would report all the things the WSblog report today. Hyper news as you call it is nothing new. There was just a lapse for some time when local radio was bought up by larger stations and they just put on generic or nationally known entertainment and news. During that lapse of local communication I would long to know what was going on locally. Street fairs, school athletic events, local parades...even local store sales(loved those)...student awards.. the WSblog just filled a void.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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bebecat is right..

in one sense sites like WSB have simply replaced the local radio news sources... but I believe they have gone one better by being interactive.

The thing that i think WSB has done best is create conversation... make it possible for strangers to speak with one another and actually get to know one another over time.. and not just on it's forums.

if a site like this is bought by a larger news organization it does cease to fulfill it's function because larger organizations generally buy sites like this to put them out of competition.

Most larger news organizations are trying to compete with local hyper-news organizations by creating "neighborhood bureaus" and doing poorly at it because they don't adequately understand either local markets or the need to build conversation and community.

I believe interactive hyper-news sites like WSB are rebuilding the sense of community that has been lost by national news organizations with their one size fits all approach.

We can read the headlines on nearly any national news source... hyper-local news helps us understand what those headlines mean for our local community.

What do any of us really want from the news? We want to know how what is happening in the greater world is going to impact or enrich our everyday lives. WSB delivers that and more.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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it should be noted that not all hyper-local news sites are the same. WSB made an early commitment to build community and i think that commitment has paid off in spades in readership and ad revenue allowing them to allocate more resources to expanding their news coverage. it is a win win for everyone.

Posted 1 year ago #
GenHillOne
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Assuming you extended professional courtesy by contacting WSB editors before posting your request, yes?

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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Also Gary--who are you writing for?

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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So you guys know, and maybe I should have warned you but I wasn't sure he would take my suggestion, Gary is writing about us and asked if I would put him in touch with a reader. While there are so many of you whose longtime readership/support of/participation in WSB we deeply value (and of course we also appreciate the legions of those who read but seldom participate), I suggested that posting a query here might bring more genuine, and voluntary, responses than if I just handpicked a person or 10 to put him in touch with. (Although I didn't suggest posting it as an open question for your responses to be visible, I was thinking more, he'd invite people to e-mail him. Oh well.)

As for who he's writing for - he might choose not to disclose publicly (I learned this the hard way after once saying on FB or Twitter or something that we'd just been interviewed for a certain publication, and the writer said "oops, can you please not talk about that, we don't want the other guys to know what we're up to") but he did tell us.

Posted 1 year ago #
GenHillOne
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Cool! :)

Posted 1 year ago #
charlabob
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Gary, as Tracy suggested, you might want to include private contact info too -- these forums sometimes get heated and some folks with interesting input might be reluctant to post here. Depends on what kind of info you want to get. NB, I'm not one of the shybies :-)

BTW, major kudos to Tracy for suggesting this approach rather than handpicking "fans." I'd say a major reason for the success of this blog is the incredibly ethical standard of its founders. Much as I may sometimes long for a look into the seedy underbelly of WS, :-), we all should know what we have here. Hey maybe that's my answer.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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Thank you, cbob. I also should say that to my knowledge, he's not writing ONLY about WSB, so anyone with thoughts in general about hyperlocal/neighborhood/whatever-you-wanna-call-it news should know that.

Meantime, off to the Health Fair. If anybody's going to The Junction today, do check it out - first-ever, right across from the Farmers' Market.

Posted 1 year ago #
westseattledood
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Gary -

Feel free to contact me at wsdood@yahoo. I'd welcome the opportunity to give you my two cents as a pre-monitization WSB reader who closely watched this visionary site evolve. It's been a fascinating and thought-provoking journey, as well as an inspiration.

Posted 1 year ago #
newnative
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1.
Why- I don't know about other people but I prefer "hyper-local" because it helps me navigate the area. I'm new to Seattle and the NW in general and this site helps me get better acquainted. Kind of like a friend substitute. I have lived in large cities that under-report common violent crime. I would see mobile homicide labs across the street and never hear about it in the news. Traffic accidents? nothing There was just too much to report to give an accurate picture of what was happening on a daily basis. I avoid the city-wide news here for the same reason.

2.
I have no idea but I imagine if a "hyper-local" site were taken over, it would depend on whom was kept and how the resources affected the reporting (advertising, equipment, salaries, etc)
3. What do you get from a hyper-local site like the West Seattle Blog that you can’t get from any other? Why do you care what’s going on in your local communities?
Pretty much what I said above. The other major benefit of "hyper-local" is that of balance of good or positive news that comes with event reporting. It's not all gloom and doom but awards, work parties, concerts, benefits and conversation. Even the "rants" against local businesses turn into discussions of alternatives.
I think the WS Blog gives an interesting perspective on what is West Seattle. Talk to other locals and White Center is not included. Here, though, White Center is just as important to us.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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New Native - FYI we have a separate site for White Center. Not as coverage-rich as this one but we keep working on it.
http://whitecenternow.com

Its entries automatically show up on the WC tab across all WSB pages.

Posted 1 year ago #
Carson
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I am not sure it will take over for the Seattle Times for example, as I think the hyper news sites expand coverage as opposed to cannibalize it. About 10-15 years ago it was said that local news stations (Like King5/Belo) with the ability to do local and national news events would spell the end of network news. We are still waiting for that to happen.

Posted 1 year ago #
charlabob
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Fremont blog coverage of the horrific fire yesterday, including ongoing coverage of the controversy over the SFD performance, was excellent. I was particularly impressed that they initially posted a video of the mothers' reaction and then, when the forum reaction was universally negative, took it down and explained why -- the community's expectations of the local news blog are justifiably different from their explanations of the mainstream media.

I'm happy that WSB hasn't had to cope with anything quite so horrible, and I hope it never does -- but I do think an eventual article about what, if any, effects the budget shortfalls have had on equipment/maintenance at emergency services might be useful.

Posted 1 year ago #
MargL
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lol - I think Gary has encountered the best part of 'hyper-local' that has been engendered by the way the West Seattle Blog does business. The community connection and almost family feel that has developed. The forums are a bit self-policing, if readers sniff out something suspicious (spam, advertising, name-calling) we have no qualms about 'telling Mom'.
And we know, due to the very clear rules and amazing responsiveness, that kind of stuff will be removed in short order.

1.
The draw for me is the news I find on the West Seattle Blog is stuff that affects me with some immediacy. The larger news organizations report on so many areas, as well as regurgitate National news stories from other sources, and it's difficult for them to focus resources on any particular neighborhood.
Globalization and worldwide communication are great - the Internet and improvements in data transmission rates have done amazing things for how we connect to each other and learn things around the world. The West Seattle Blog is, in part, filling a niche that used to be covered by folks standing around the watercooler, old folks sitting around at the country store or folks talking over fences.

2. Are there any specific examples of hyper-local sites that have been bought by a larger organization? I know several in the area have -tried- to create new ones with little success - even after much pleading with the public along the lines of 'please help us, send us content, join our team of bloggers.'
I think what might happen if a hyper-local site was purchased is the focus would be to use the content to sell advertising rather than sell advertising to enable content to be served. It also might be put behind a paid-subscription model that would make content harder to access.

3. Reading the hyper-local sites enables me to be informed on a variety of things specific to the neighborhood I'm reading, about in a timely manner.
I don't have to slog thru a bazillion headlines about the oil spill in the Gulf, or a sports team I don't care about, or some horrible gruesome crash in the Olympic peninsula. It might sell a lot of advertising but sometimes I just want to know what day and time the street fair in the Junction is starting or when the new restaurant down the street will open.
Many of the local stories are same day or as-they-happen. You usually hear after the fact news with the larger organizations.
The comments on the stories and in the forums frequently have additional tidbits of useful information that add to the story or spark interesting debate. In the larger sites the comments are often a free-for-all of meaningless 'firsties' posts, bashing, or comments are turned off completely because the site doesn't have the manpower to police the comments for trash talk and doesn't have the community participation that will report such comments for deletion.
The West Seattle Blog, in particular, has developed a wonderful rapport with the community. I don't see that as much with the other 'local' news site. I might get some of the same news but much much less feedback or participation in the forums or comments on stories.
Why do I care? Because this is where I live. If I need local news, I will look at the hyper-local sites first. I trust the content more, I like the focus on stories rather than in-your-face advertising, and I enjoy reading the comments and posts by other readers.

p.s. for folks who were asking Gary Moskowitz aka blogowitz is not hard to find in Google. Tho' it doesn't answer the question what publication he's writing for.

Posted 1 year ago #
jellyfish
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1. Why, in this time of globalization and worldwide communication, are more and more people turning to hyperlocal news? What’s the draw for you to get news from a site like West Seattle Blog? /// I select multiple news sources in order to understand what is happening locally (WSB, Seattle Times, Real Change), nationally (NPR, Huffington Post, CNN, MSNBC) and internationally (NPR, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera English version, etc...). The events that occur closest to home often have the most immediate impact in our day-to-day lives, thus the daily reliance on a news source that reports neighborhood events. I rely on WSB for crime reports (usually car thefts and break-ins in streets close to my home), scheduled events at local businesses and institutions, info about schools, local politicians, community events, street closures & transportation issues, local disasters, animal sightings, etc... I use this information to adjust my own behavior, schedule my participation in an event, or to expand my understanding of the local community. I find that reading about animal sightings, looking at pictures of local sunsets or beautiful views, and reading about the accomplishments of local community members all serve to strengthen my own personal positive feelings for the community and thus enrich my own life experience.

2. When a hyperlocal site is bought by a bigger news organization, does it cease to fulfil its original purpose? //// ABSOLUTELY. There is something significantly authentic and more rich about the news when it's delivered by fellow community members who themselves have real relationships with individuals and businesses within this community. Reading the WSB helps me feel part of my local environment & the people in it, as if this is a site "for the people, by the people". The same level in detail in daily news reporting would never be achievable by a bigger news organization. This difference can be observed when comparing news about my neighborhood (West Seattle) from the WSB to the Seattle Times or Seattle PI. The latter two do not provide as much detail on a daily basis, and in fact usually have little bites about news that has arisen from my neighborhood here or there, but usually nothing that impacts my own life. If WSB were to sell its operation or close down, this neighborhood would lose something very valuable.

3. What do you get from a hyper-local site like the West Seattle Blog that you can’t get from any other? Why do you care what’s going on in your local communities? /// Think I've explained this. News on WSB actually impacts my day-to-day living experience compared to news obtained from other sources from more remote areas. It's about proximity to neighborhood & depth of reporting. The beauty truly is in the details.

Thanks very much for your input. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Posted 1 year ago #
maplesyrup
Member Profile

Hi Gary,

To answer 1&3: Obviously, sites like the WSB offer news and information that can't be found elsewhere. And when it comes to politics, not only do the stories in the WSB tend to affect me personally more than the stuff I'd find elsewhere, I also have a much better chance of effectively acting on the information found here.

And one other nice thing is that the national news tends to be a sea of negativity. Yesterday I was talking with my barber about the WSB and we both noted that a lot of the stories here are about good things that are happening in the community. It's a nice change.

To answer #2: Not unless it means a substantial change in the content, format, or philosophy under which the site is managed. Actually, I'd love it if the WSB founders got a significant financial reward for selling their site. They deserve it. But it would be a huge disappointment to see new owners come in and mess with a successful formula.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

maplesyrup..

therein lies the rub...
what WSB has to sell is advertising revenue...

a new owner dedicated enough to maintain the standards they set for the site are unlikely to have the funds to secure WSB founders a hefty payoff:(

a large news organization that bought this site would lose readers here as quickly as they lost readers in print media when they decided to focus on advertisers and get their news from publicity releases and data miners working from India.

Posted 1 year ago #
blogowitz
Member Profile

Many thanks to all of you for your thoughtful, insightful responses. I hope you don't mind me using the open platform here to ask my questions. Given the subject matter, I thought it would be more appropriate to pose my questions in an open format. I honestly wasn't expecting such a wealth of responses, so thank you all for that.
Probably better not to discuss where the story is running, but know that it is a national mag. And also know that the story is about hyper-local news sites in general, not just the WSB. I'll be sure to send a link when it's up. Again, many thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #
odroku
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1. Is that a joke?
2. Depends.
3. Is that a joke?

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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To the point of "selling out" - which by the way has never been proposed to us, nor would we entertain it == some of you might be interested in a link we're really proud of. (If you are a FB friend on my personal page, you might have seen it already.)

One of our oldest, dearest friends in Southern California started a similar site, inspired by this one, and has done a hell of a job with it. He was approached by one of the corporate efforts that is trying to take over this space because they don't know where else to get money. He told them to get lost. (This particular concern, by the way, owned by AOL, is advertising for Seattle managers, so they may be heading this way before their investment runs out.)

http://www.altadenablog.com/2010/06/reporters-notebook-why-were-staying.html

Again, we can't tell you how much we appreciate your support and collaboration.

Posted 1 year ago #
ellenater
Member Profile

It's all been said, but I agree with charlabob. WSB is inherently ethical and transparent. The two go hand in hand, I think. WSB is the glue that holds this community together. I have learned SO much about journalism here and the difference between a verifiable fact, the importance of that, and conjecture.

Also, reading WSB has basically stripped away the years of big news cynicism. After years and years of being exposed to either big conglomerate news, or reactionary small press stuff, WSB was a refreshing find. I didn't even know it was possible to have such relevant, uncompromising, factual, literate, and heartfelt news all in the same place. It never fails to amaze me and is a big reason I moved from North to West Seattle; I wanted to live in a community versus an area.

I consider WSB to be irreplaceable and would never consider a buy-out a viable option as it would trounce the objective. There is no grey area there as the opposing objectives would be clearly counter intuitive. If anything, we should get rid of the big news conglomerates and teach the locals, in all areas, how to create a WSB model. I'm pretty sure TR has time for that. ;)

Posted 1 year ago #
DP
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Upside of local blogs: You don't need to beg some snobby editor to get your opinion or news story out there. Everybody gets a turn.

Downside of local blogs: There's no quality control.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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ellenator..

you have hit on it...
that is how WSB gets the big bucks and we get to keep our site as it is..

seminars! or maybe a book... so they can make those big bucks teaching others how to do what they have done...

Posted 1 year ago #
ellenater
Member Profile

TY, JoB. :)

Wouldn't it be great?!! I wonder if something like a seminar could actually happen or if it would be inherently formulaic. I kinda think it could happen. I am hoping, as a society, we are moving away from the quantifiable numbers game and other useless rhetoric. I guess it would have to toe that line somehow. I am so heartened by the approach of WSB. Seeing people use their prowess for good always tickles me. There must be a way to transmit the teachings of "The Way", heh heh. I would think with blogging being what it is, the future is clearly still in the making. The possibilities are endless and it'd be nice to carve a niche of change into the whole news process while the opening is there. That would be so cool... .

Posted 1 year ago #
miws
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As busy as TR and Patrick are, they may not have enough time to conduct seminars, or write a book.

Others wanting to learn The Way, would probably have to shadow them for a week or two! ;-)

Mike

Posted 1 year ago #
Kevin
Member Profile

Hi Gary,

I pasted your original questions here to make it easier to address each point.

------------------------------

1. Why, in this time of globalization and worldwide communication, are more and more people turning to hyperlocal news? What’s the draw for you to get news from a site like West Seattle Blog?

I currently get my news from several different sources. Listed in order of importance to me.

A. The West Seattle Blog

B. Local internet news sites such as KOMO, KING.

C. The Seattle Times (old habits die hard)

I could easily live without C. and no longer watch TV news or listen to radio news.

2. Ihen a hyperlocal site is bought by a bigger news organization, does it cease to fulfil its original purpose?

No question about it! It's the PERSONAL touch that makes the hyper local sites unique. WSB is unusual in that it is run by EXPERIENCED professional journalists.

Too many hyper local sites are run by well meaning folks who still hang on to their day job.

The WSB reports news 24/7. Tracy seems to work the night shift while Patrick works days :)

KOMO is currently trying to imitate the hyper local look and feel by providing links where users can drill down to "local" neighborhood news. While they do sometimes provide an interesting story, there is NOT enough content to really qualify as a separate area. Have to give them credit for trying.

3. What do you get from a hyper-local site like the West Seattle Blog that you can’t get from any other? Why do you care what’s going on in your local communities?

+ Almost INSTANT news updates.
+ Ability to talk / write the editors at any hour.
+ Editors who write back, either directly on the blog or in a private email.
+ Encouragement of user contributed news and stories.
+ As DP pointed out - the ability to be heard.
+ Coverage of news that would NEVER appear elsewhere.
+ I don't really care about other neighborhoods unless there is a story of major interest.
+ News that is highly relevant to me and my daily activities.
+ A REAL sense of community.
+ Brings the community closer together.
+ Getting to know your neighbors.
+ And on and on.

Just as an FYI, I frequently ask folks if they read the WSB. Almost everyone has heard of it and about 8 or 9 out of 10 do claim to read it.

Posted 1 year ago #