- Chapter 4 - Become A Portal For Your Region
A common epithet for the Internet is ‘World Wide Web,’ a term indicating a universal entity free of geographical borders. Ironically, it is exactly this global phenomenon that is the primary driver behind a trend towards hyper-local newspaper coverage. People in Texas can instantly find the latest scoop in Timbuktu through a simple Google search. But what is happening in their immediate communities, the news they really want to know, often escapes them. Herein lies a golden opportunity for newspapers.
ARTICLES
Newspapers must be ‘indispensable’ for their communities As news becomes increasingly hyper-local, there is real opportunity for newspapers to make themselves an “indispensable” component of their communities. Such is the mantra of online newspaper pioneer, Rob Curley. Curley sees newspapers not only as purveyors of news but feels they should transform their websites into portals for all local information. Having helped to revolutionize the websites of the Kansas Lawrence Journal-World and Florida’s Naples News, before moving on to the Washington Post, Curley’s “indispensable” theory is taking hold. ‘Mojos’ reconnect with local communitiesBefore Gannett proposed its new “Information Center” strategy, newspaper designer and consultant Jeff Mignon wondered if traditional print journalists from local papers were ready for a new age of news. In a July ’06 posting on his blog, Média Café, Mignon asked, “Are they ready to pick up the video camera and microphone... Are they ready to ask how should I tell this story... sound, video, text, images, infographics?" Gannett answered his question with a resounding “yes.”A Haven of Hyper-localNewspapers beware! The journalists you are increasingly willing to let go may come back to haunt you! Take the story of Paul Bass. A 25-year veteran of New Haven, CT print journalism, Bass created the New Haven Independent (www.newhavenindependent.org), a non-profit, online publication founded in the tradition of newspaper journalism. With a small, dedicated team and a growing readership, Bass has found a rejuvenated optimism in the news business through online reporting.
“Local, local, local.” That’s the newsroom mantra behind the success of the Austrian regional, Vorarlberger Nachrichten (VN). The full-color Monday through Saturday paper covering Austria’s most Western state, Vorarlberg, wedged between Switzerland and Germany, dedicates only one page to national and one page to international news per edition, leaving the overall majority of the paper for news about its own people. With this local strategy, VN has a reach in its area of 70% during the week, 82% on Saturdays and 200,000 daily readers, making it the largest paper in Vorarlberg which is home to 380,000 residents and 120,000 households.
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