LGEO Research: Where do local authorities fit in the hyperlocal media landscape?

Liz Asyan, a pHD student researching local government and citizen engagement online, has reproduced the answers she gave in an interview on Camden Council’s plans for using hyperlocal websites. Asyan is firm in her belief that local authorities using a hyperlocal strategy online will be “unofficial contributors” to the sites, but will leave them alone in the hands of citizens:

I do not see councils as “using” hyperlocal sites because they are not there to interfere nor moderate/own the hyperlocal websites. They hyperlocal websites belong to citizens and they are the “users” of hyperlocal websites. Councils are unofficial contributors to useful information that can help citizens within that particular area. So you can view councils as being just another member of that community sitting side-by-side with citizens, reaching out on citizens level without any barriers or judgements. This type of engagement will hopefully break down the barriers or walls that currently exist between councils and citizens and increase citizens trust towards local authorities.

Interesting to consider how such hyperlocal projects by local authorities will change the local media landscape and potentially their role as community media and publishers.

Full post at this link…

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – the FT on data visualisation

Thinking about working with interactives and data visualisation? In this Q&A, the FT’s Rob Minto shares some useful tools and explains how interactives can transform your journalism. Tipster: Judith Townend.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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What’s it like to live in a media city?

In case you were wondering what a ‘media city’ or ‘global media community’ would look like, we’ve got some info on the new flats at Salford Quays, ahead of the BBC’s move of Radio 5 Live, Children’s and some of Future Media and Technology.

Not only are the new dwellings billed as “tasteful, exquisite, and refined”, you’ll get to “experience (media) city living” and “be at the heart of it”. Continuing with the odd punctuation, Peel Media has named the blocks ‘TheHeart’ and ‘NumberOne’.

If you want to see more, have a look at this Peel Media ad for the new apartments available to buy or rent at MediaCityUK at Salford Quays.

Brand new, contemporary waterfront apartments are now available in the spectacular environs of MediaCityUK at Salford Quays. Available to buy or rent in two towers fronting the Manchester Ship Canal, there are studios, one, two or three bedroom apartments with the upper floors having breathtaking views of MediaCityUK and the surrounding area.

Peel Media is developing a global media community here and, as a resident, you will be at the heart of the excitement. BBC North and the University of Salford will open their respective new headquarters at MediaCityUK in 2011 while the most high-tech broadcast studio development in the UK will be creating content for a wide range of programmes. The apartments benefit from the fastest residential broadband connection in the country; a new tram stop on the doorstep; bars and restaurants; a Booths food store and a stunning public piazza and park.

A word of warning, if this YouTube video is anything to go by, your neighbours will look like they’re straight out of the Monsters Inc factory.

Hat-tip: How-Do

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Google looks to failed searches to find story ideas

A string of digital media companies producing story ideas based on unfulfilled online searches face a new adversary in the form of Google.

According to a report in the Financial Times, the search engine registered a patent earlier this year for “a system that would help it identify ‘inadequate content’” online and subsequently provide ideas for desired news stories.

This service could then be potentially sold on, competing with other companies already trying to develop similar systems.

Read the FT report here.

Also in Google news, it is rumoured that the company will be launching its own paid-content system, Newspass, by the end of the year.

According to paidContent:UK, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports that content from a publisher signed up to Newspass will be indicated by a paywall icon.

In a statement to paidContent, Google said:

“Our aim, as with all Google products, would be to reach as broad a global audience as possible,” indicating potential for a global roll out of the system.

Full story at this link…

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#newsrw: Countdown to Journalism.co.uk’s news:rewired event – are you coming?

It’s just one week till news:rewired – the nouveau niche at Microsoft UK in London, our one-day event for journalists and communications professionals with a specialist subject or beat.

**Last chance to buy** We have a couple of tickets still available, so click through fast, to be in with a chance.

So who’s coming along on Friday 25 June? You can see a full list of delegates here; and a full list of speakers at this link. We’ve also created this Wordle showing the various organisations at which our delegates work (click through image to see larger version):

As reported on our news:rewired site, UBM is the best represented B2B publisher, with 10 delegates, followed by Reed Business Information in second, with five delegates and three speakers. Follow this link for further breakdown.

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Flickr/Getty deal brings new revenue opportunity for photographers

The photo-sharing website Flickr has introduced a new option which allows photographers to publicly nominate their images for licensing by Getty.

When another user sees an image they would like to licence, they will be put in touch with Getty to arrange the sale.

In short, the new Flickr/Getty feature, called Request to License, lets photographers nominate their photos directly to users searching for photos to license – without first going through Getty.

Cnet News has a report with a bit of context here:

In Flickr’s initial partnership with photo licensing powerhouse Getty Images, Getty representatives cherry-picked Flickr photos and photographers they liked. Later, Flickr members could offer their own candidates for evaluation by Getty for licensing.

More detail from the Flickr blog:

When a prospective licensee sees an image marked for license, they can click on the link and be put in touch with a representative from Getty Images who will help handle details like permissions, releases and pricing. Once reviewed, the Getty Images editors will send you a FlickrMail to request to license your work, either for commercial or editorial usage. The decision to license is always yours.

Flickr recently added the 100,000th photo to the Flickr Collection on Getty Images.

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Guardian Local on Twitter; wants to talk to local bloggers

Guardian Local, which launched sites for three cities in February,  introduced a new Twitter feed yesterday, @GdnLocal, with the aim of helping hyperlocal sites and local bloggers in the UK “stay connected”.

In other Guardian Local news, the project is advertising for a new blogger for its Edinburgh site. We’re told that launch blogger, Tom Allan, has decided to move on and will concentrate on other multimedia projects, after six months in the role. He will, however, continue to contribute to the blog, said GNM.

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OJR.org: News convergence isn’t necessarily easy for student journalists

Studies may show that ‘Millennials’ have good web and technology skills, but Aaron Chimbel, assistant professor of professional practice at TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism, says current day ” journalism students are not so different than grizzled veterans of legacy media, at least not in practice”.

They know they spend their entire lives connected, but it doesn’t mean they automatically default to multimedia and a convergence culture in the classroom or the workplace. They seem to have a hard time translating how they consume news and information to how they should produce it. Many, though certainly not all, of them still see themselves as part of traditional media. It’s a sense that’s reinforced when campus newspapers and radio and television news staffs remain in separate quarters, rarely (or never) working together.

Full post at this link…

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MediaShift: What are the effects of crowdfunding journalism?

Over on MediaShift, PhD student Tanja Aitamurto shares the first of five posts detailing some of her research findings in ‘collective intelligence’ in journalism.

Platforms such as Spot.Us and Kickstarter have shown that crowdfunding can work as a financing mechanism for journalism. We will likely see more crowdfunded stories in the future, which means it’s important [to] study how crowdfunding impacts journalism and the role and work of a journalist.

She offers five observations “on how the crowdfunded process impacts journalism from the reporter’s and donor’s point of view”.

Full post at this link…

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#Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – checklist for community sites

Hyperlocal or community sites: Leonard Witt passes on a checklist which could be a manifesto, or set of guidelines for projects that want to be truly “informed communities”. Tipster: Judith Townend.

To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link – we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

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