In April Journalism.co.uk talked to Mark Briggs, founder of hyperlocal news service NewsGarden.

Briggs described the one-year old project as like ‘a weekly newspaper without the weekly and the paper’ – a way for news consumers to find relevant local information without have to browse through several sections of their local newspaper website.

The software package can be used by publishers to map their own news stories, aggregate local news and information from external sources and contributions from readers. It also serves up geo-targeted advertising.

Over the summer more US regional newspaper sites have taken up the platform with the Kitsap Sun using it to allow readers to share links, news and information on its community sites; and the Cedar Rapids Gazette further incorporating Newsgarden as part of its site relaunch.