Grassroots journalism in your own backyard: How citizen reporters build hyperlocal communities

Abstract

Americans are flocking to the Internet for news and information. However, the majority of online journalism targets a national audience, thereby lacking a proximate focus. 2 The Associated Press, "Newspaper Circulation Falls Again," 1 November 2004, [Accessed via Associated Press wire]. 3 Ibid. The Audit Bureau of Circulations' report, on which the AP article is based, encompasses 841 daily and 662 Sunday papers. Four additional metro newspapers-Newsday, the Dallas Morning News, The Chicago Sun-Times and Hoy-were excluded from the sample because of data irregularities. It should be noted the first three aforementioned papers would be considered among the nation's top 20 had they been included in the ABC's findings.

Hyperlocal Media in the Nordic Region

“…This approach reflects the freshness of the research area and the need for an open approach. The literature on hyperlocal media goes back some 15 years and is thus a relatively new field of study in the Nordic context (Boyles, 2006;Farhi, 2007;Shaw, 2007). The con-cept of hyperlocal media has provided researchers with a bridge from citizen journalism, community media and localised websites in legacy media to alternative hybrid forms of media work, including participatory forms of publishing.…”

Non-traditional Skills and Tactics and Modern Technology

“…Gillmor founded bayosphere.com, a non-profit participatory journalism website which was later bought by another participatory journalism website, backfence.com. The two sites rose to prominence amidst vibrant mainstream media market such that they were able to secure funding in recognition of their pioneering effort at democratizing news gathering, reporting and distribution (Boyles, 2007 (Boyles, 2006).…”

Non-traditional Skills and Tactics and Modern Technology

“…Backfence.com is owned by Backfence, Inc., and it serves Bethesda, Md., McLean, Va.; and Veston, Va. Bayosphere is a cooperative of local bloggers in the Bay Area of San Francisco, an area reputable for high technology (Boyles, 2006). There are other United States' "citizen journalism" media along with millions of news sites focusing on different regions around the world that successfully utilize non-traditional skills and tactics in news gathering, reporting and distribution.…”

“…There are other United States' "citizen journalism" media along with millions of news sites focusing on different regions around the world that successfully utilize non-traditional skills and tactics in news gathering, reporting and distribution. The Greeboro News & Record, OhMyNews, Bakerfield, Califonia's Northwest Voice, Northwestern University's Goskokie!, University of Missouri and Washington, D.C.'s Backfence.com are very successful experiments in the use of nontraditional skills and tactics that continue to impact media landscape in the United States of America and around the world (Boyles, 2006).…”