{"id":101,"date":"2012-03-08T15:14:52","date_gmt":"2012-03-08T23:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/caseyamoore\/?page_id=101"},"modified":"2012-03-17T22:36:19","modified_gmt":"2012-03-18T06:36:19","slug":"multimedia-portfolio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/caseyamoore\/multimedia-portfolio\/","title":{"rendered":"Multimedia Portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em>Online Hyperlocal News Sites Increase in Popularity, Gain Help from Citizens<\/strong>
\nBy Casey Moore<\/p>\n

In 1994, Jennifer Peebles<\/a> joined the Tennessean<\/em><\/a> as a summer intern. Fourteen years and several promotions later, she was the government editor. Today, she\u2019s the deputy editor of Texas Watchdog<\/em><\/a>, an online-only investigative news organization headquartered in Houston.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Click image to hear Jennifer Peebles interviewed for a podcast about speed and accuracy in online journalism.<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout her years in journalism, Peebles has seen newsroom changes including a change from focusing on a daily, print-only publication, to holding print and online news at equal value, to only appearing online. In fact, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual State of the Media report<\/a> (2011), 41 percent of Americans now read most of their news online.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been interesting to see this historic shift in how we do things,\u201d Peebles said<\/p>\n

With the transition to online media has also come a narrowed focus on specific geographic areas, communities, and social interests. While Watchdog<\/em> focuses on government accountability in the state of Texas, more and more \u201chyperlocal\u201d news sites\u2014that is, news focused around a specific, well-defined community, the issues and concerns of its residents, and increased “citizen journalism” postings\u2014have popped up across the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many, like Rob Curley of Nieman Reports<\/a>, believe that these sites signify a return to \u201cold school local journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople\u2026 tend to act like [hyperlocal news sites are] something very new,\u201d Curley wrote in a 2007 report. \u201cTrust me, this ain\u2019t new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Websites like EveryBlock<\/a>, Placeblogger<\/a>, Outside.in<\/a>, and Patch<\/a> have all blossomed out of this renewed hyperlocal focus. Aaron Selverston, editor of the Palo Alto Patch<\/a>, agrees with Curley\u2014his site\u2019s mission to produce news and build local community is nothing new.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not re-inventing the desire that people have to know what\u2019s going on around them,\u201d he said. \u201cThat desire is as old as humanity. All that we\u2019re doing is innovating on the medium in which those stories are told.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patch is a network of news sites focused on cities across the continental United States. Its goal, Selverston said, is to reach beyond journalism\u2019s central goal of serving as watchdog to the powers that be, aiming to grow \u201can online community that reflects the diverse elements of the physical community that it exists within.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each Patch site operates a bit differently, Selverston said, based on editorial discretion and the community interests. But the main structure is the same: providing local news, highlighting local events and organizations, and giving passionate citizens a voice through blogs and discussion threads.<\/p>\n

The latter goal is uniquely targeted by Patch. The Palo Alto site has several citizen bloggers\u2014all residents of Palo Alto\u2014who post each week about topics and stories related to their area of expertise. Remarkably, all \u201ccitizen journalist\u201d blogs and online comments are not moderated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re allowing people to take ownership of their own storytelling, and write their own histories, connect with people they didn\u2019t know,\u201d Selverston said. \u201cIt\u2019s fostering the growth of a sense of place that people living in communities of this size really, really value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Click to view photo slideshow: Old and New Technologies Collide at the San Jose Mercury News<\/p><\/div>\n

However, some critics argue that increased citizen journalism could compromise the integrity of the hyperlocal news site. Media institutions often express concern that without professional training and instruction, citizen journalists could post content that is low-quality, detracting from the high-quality news site.<\/p>\n

Mark Potts of Neiman Reports<\/a> disagrees. In a 2007 report, he wrote that despite their lack of industry standards such as the \u201cinverted pyramid\u201d-style writing structure, citizen journalists \u201cprovide far more detail and nuance on a topic than a traditional news story ever could. They also provide a depth of coverage of microscopic issues and events that thinly stretched traditional newsrooms simply can\u2019t get to.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre these substitutes for traditional professional reporting? No, they aren\u2019t,\u201d Potts continued. \u201cDo they hew to the spirit of impartiality that journalists strive for? No, they don\u2019t. But they do provide an additional, complementary forum for the airing of local issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Palo Alto Weekly<\/a>*<\/em>, which appears in print once weekly and online up-to-the-minute, often interacts with its readership through their popular online forum, Town Square<\/a>. The editors occasionally get leads and ideas from their readers online, which their professional reporters then pursue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often benefit from the expertise of these people, who may know more about a subject than a reporter,\u201d said Weekly<\/em> publisher Bill Johnson. \u201cSo \u2018citizen journalism\u2019 is more about getting leads and ideas from people rather than fully produced stories comparable to what a professional journalist would produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like its neighboring Patch site, the Weekly<\/em> allows some citizen blogs as well as videos, photos, and sports scores to appear on its website. But there is a clear distinction between works created by professional reporters versus citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not relying on residents to do our jobs,\u201d Selverston of the Palo Alto Patch explained. \u201c[It\u2019s] clearly delineated\u2026which stories are written by us and which are not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with these dramatic shifts in structure, the Weekly<\/em> remains largely dependent on print advertising revenues to keep its finances afloat. This financial tether, along with high reader demand for print, keeps their weekly printed publication alive.<\/p>\n

With this bondage to print so hard to break, online-only news organizations like Patch have been accused of having a business model that is doomed to fail. Selverston disagrees, claiming that he sees the writing on the wall for print journalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see if newspapers still exist in 20 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

*Editor’s note: Casey Moore is an occasional freelance contributor to the Palo Alto Weekly.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Multimedia Components:<\/p>\n