Monthly Archives: November 2010
How hyperlocal could resuscitate town hall debate
There is a great article in The Independent by Neela Debnath about how she beleives hyperlocal news could resuscitate town hall debate.
Neela’s take on this is that as the regional press struggles of survive in the present climate, established and aspiring journalists should see it as their duty to cover their local patch as effectively as they can, principle by the Internet.
As she says of her neighbourhood, “There are so many stories out there that are just not being covered” and that she see’s her work “even if it doesn’t make it into the paper, as a way of creating important information on my local area.” She also makes the useful point that any hope of David Cameron of creating a successful Big Society will only come about through a strong local press ”to process and deliver this information to the people.”
Hyperlocal Voices on OJB
Over at Online Journalism Blog (OJB), Paul Bradshaw et al, are developing a fine series of pen portraits of hyperlocal news sites from around the UK and further afield, called Hyperlocal Voices.
These range from Pits and Pots in Stoke, to The Licolnite and from Holland Telegraaf Hyperlocal Project.
