Tag Archives: local journalism

OJR: An interview with Washington DC’s new local news platform

1 Reply

Following the launch of TBD.com, an online local news platform in Washington DC, the Online Journalism Review has published an interview with Steve Buttry, director of community engagement.

OJR’s Robert Niles asks what the near future holds for the site, which combines the work of two television stations, local journalists, online bloggers and other community sites.

We looked for blogs covering local news, life and issues. We looked for blogs that appeared to provide quality content and post frequently. Washington has lots of outstanding blogs covering national and international affairs that we didn’t invite. We may at some point add a “Washington people” section, but at this point, we have decided not to include any of the many outstanding blogs that are primarily personal. We have some blogs that are mostly about cooking. They have been told that we will be more likely to link to a post that has a sense of place (here’s the recipe that I used to cook the eggplants I got at the Reston Farmers Market) than just a recipe.

See the full post here…

Is the local coffee shop the new newsroom?

3 Replies

Could the local coffee shop become the new newsroom for local reporters?

According to Mallary Tenore at PoynterOnline, journalists operating out of coffee shops in the US have been finding stories and making contacts like never before, as they quite literally integrate themselves within their community patch.

Many editors consider their best reporters the ones they never see — because they’re out in the community. Fisher at The Washington Post said the reporters who worked out of coffee shops for the day found sources and stories they may not have otherwise come across.

Rather than keeping reporters at their office desks, it appears that editors who let a journalist’s quick ‘cuppa’ seep into an all-day pursuit will reap the rewards. Journalism.co.uk reported in June how Freehold InJersey (FinJ) had moved its newsroom to a local cafe. They hoped this would invite stronger links between the community news site and its local readers. They even provide a free computer for readers to use.

See the full post at his link…

BBC Radio 4: ‘Has the local rag had its day?’

Leave a reply

If you missed BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour last night, catch up with a feature on local news here at this link. It includes comments from City University journalism professor and media commentator Roy Greenslade, and the Lichfield Blog’s Ross Hawkes [Hawkes will  be talking at Journalism.co.uk’s news:rewired event on 14 January; more information at this link…] The Westminster Hour discusses council newspapers, PA’s public reporting project (as yet still seeking funding) and the Culture, Media and Sport select committee inquiry.

Traditionally, local newspapers have reported the decisions of local authorities and how justice is administered in the courts.

But the role of holding to account public bodies is threatened by the closure of many local newspapers – last year alone more than 70 papers folded.

Full post at this link…

AdAge.com: Could these local start-ups replace newspapers?

Leave a reply

“We’re seeing the newspaper business collapse in slow motion, but what will replace it? That’s the question behind a wave of start-ups trying to find a new model for local journalism,” says an article on AdAge.com.

It takes a look at the new NYTimes’ ‘The Local’ sites, and the start-up ‘Patch,’ but makes the comment that ‘even the most successful, self-sustaining local websites and blogs find it hard to build advertising-based businesses.’

Full story at this link…