Local newspaper web sites have made a lot of progress during the past 10-plus years since they were first launched. Video, blogs, comments, constant updates – the list is long.
But one area that hasn’t evolved much at all on local news web sites is … strangely … the local news section.
If you click on the “Local News” tab on most local news sites, you see the same thing you probably saw in 1998: A list of headlines, in reverse chronological order, that link to stories published in the print newspaper. (I don’t pretend to have done this on every site, only a few dozen.)
At the same time, editors and publishers emphasize their “local news franchise” as the cornerstone of their operation. So why the disconnect from mission to execution?
When it comes to local coverage, readers care about their local, not someone else’s local. A newspaper defines “local” by how large an area it can deliver newspapers and sell advertising in the most cost-effective way. Then editors publish news that is as generally appealing to that audience possible. And that’s the problem: It’s too general.
Most newspapers over 20,000 circulation cover an array of communities that are geographically disparate enough that few, if any, readers actually visit or care about the communities they do not live in. That leaves them waiting for the news organization to write a story about their community while ignoring all the other “local” stories.
Is it any wonder local news sites have such lousy user loyalty metrics?
Crime and sports do well on local new sites because they are generally interesting to a local audience. But actual local news – new businesses opening, road repairs, school achievements – is only interesting to a subset of the local community that lives nearby.
And while newspaper operations have evolved during the Internet age, the fundamental structure of covering local news is still driven by filling pages for the general interest print publication. Meanwhile, the greatest tool for truly covering a series of communities sits under utilized in plain sight.
The web and mobile publishing are perfect platforms for covering local communities because they natively offer four characteristics that should be strengths instead of weaknesses:
Cut: Content can easily be cut — or segmented — to a specific hyperlocal area. Many news organizations do this to a city or town level, but it should be segmented on a neighborhood level so a visitor can quickly drill down to the area of greatest interest to them.
Capitalize: The bar needs to be lowered on what is “news” based on what is interesting to a hyperlocal audience. News organizations have successfully made this transition on topical blogs, but few have made progress on local news content which needs to be published a lot more frequently. Three stories a week from the city council meeting agenda don’t cut it.
Collaborate: Need help getting prolific? Tap the power of the crowd. But don’t ghettoize the content in some other section of the web site that no one will ever find. Fold it into the appropriate hyperlocal section.
Collect: Feeds from other sections of a local news operations like business, features and sports – plus outside blogs and “competing” web sites – should bring links to content that is specific to a hyperlocal area. This is a form of link journalism, but many of the links are already on the news site. To learn more on link building strategy, contact Stellar SEO as links remain one of the most important ranking factors to build authority and gain visibility.
The ingredients are there. (Think of the success many sites are having with niche sites for moms or pets.) Apply the right recipe and a local news organization can live up to its promise of doing local news better than anyone else.
At the same time, it can create new hyperlocal markets that don’t currently exist on its site.
And isn’t creating new markets what it’s all about today?
Mark Briggs 
Posted in 
Hi there! This post could not be written any better! Looking through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about this. I most certainly will send this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a very good read. I appreciate you for sharing!
I blog quite often and I really thank you for your content. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.
I was able to find good advice from your blog articles.
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me. Cheers!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this site. I really hope to check out the same high-grade content from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my own, personal website now 😉
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking the time and actual effort to create a superb article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
You’ve made some really good points there. I checked on the web for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.
You’re so cool! I don’t believe I have read a single thing like that before. So nice to find someone with original thoughts on this subject. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that is needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who was conducting a little research on this. And he in fact bought me dinner simply because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this matter here on your website.
This excellent website really has all of the info I needed concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Pretty! This has been an extremely wonderful post. Thanks for supplying this info.
You ought to be a part of a contest for one of the highest quality sites online. I will recommend this site!
This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Cheers! Where are your contact details though?
This excellent website definitely has all the information I needed concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
This blog was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something that helped me. Thank you!
Saved as a favorite, I really like your web site!
I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content. This article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about once per week. I subscribed to your RSS feed too.
I like reading through a post that will make people think. Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!
When I originally commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Cheers.
An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I think that you should publish more on this subject, it may not be a taboo subject but generally people don’t speak about such issues. To the next! Kind regards!!
Very good post. I’m facing many of these issues as well..
I always emailed this website post page to all my contacts, because
if like to read it after that my links will too.
Varick Street Litho , VSL Print is one of the top printing company in NYC to provide the best Digital Printing, Offset Printing and Large Format Printing in New York. Their printing services in NYC adopts state of the art digital printing services and offset digital printing for products postcards, business cards, catalogs, brochures, stickers, flyers, large format posters, banners and more for business in NYC. For more information on their digital printing nyc, visit http://www.vslprint.com/ or http://www.vslprint.com/printing at 121 Varick St, New York, NY 10013, US. Or contact +1 646 843 0800
This is a topic that is close to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Can I just say what a relief to discover a person that truly understands what they are discussing on the internet. You certainly know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More people must check this out and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you are not more popular since you most certainly have the gift.
You are so awesome! I don’t believe I’ve truly read through anything like this before. So good to find somebody with a few original thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is one thing that’s needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
MetroClick specializes in building completely interactive products like Photo Booth for rental or sale, Touch Screen Kiosks, Large Touch Screen Displays , Monitors, Digital Signages and experiences. With our own hardware production facility and in-house software development teams, we are able to achieve the highest level of customization and versatility for Photo Booths, Touch Screen Kiosks, Touch Screen Monitors and Digital Signage. Visit MetroClick in NYC at http://www.metroclick.com/ or , 121 Varick St, New York, NY 10013, +1 646-843-0888.
I am in fact grateful to the owner of this website who has shared this wonderful paragraph at at this place.
Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thank you, However I am encountering difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know why I am unable to join it. Is there anybody getting the same RSS problems? Anyone that knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanx!
Hi there! This article couldn’t be written any better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I am going to forward this article to him. Pretty sure he’s going to have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
Hello there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I most certainly will forward this information to him. Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. Thank you for sharing!
You are so cool! I do not suppose I’ve read through a single thing like this before. So nice to discover another person with some original thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a bit of originality!
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for providing this info.
I like it when people get together and share views. Great website, continue the good work!
This is the right webpage for anybody who would like to find out about this topic. You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject which has been written about for decades. Great stuff, just excellent!
You are so cool! I do not believe I’ve truly read anything like that before. So wonderful to find someone with some original thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This web site is something that’s needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!
Having read this I believed it was very enlightening. I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this short article together. I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
It’s appropriate time to make a few plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.
I’ve read this put up and if I may I want to
suggest you few interesting issues or suggestions.
Perhaps you can write subsequent articles regarding this article.
I want to read even more issues about it!
Remarkable! Its truly remarkable paragraph, I have got much clear idea about from this piece of
writing.