Hyperlocal Newsroom Hype

Hyperlocal media outlets like BrickCityLive, DNAinfo, NJSpotlight, Patch, and Wrexham have been popping up in communities all over the world for several years. And like most traditional newsrooms, hyperlocals have to figure out how to stay relevant in the competitive world of journalism and make a profit. 

Hyperlocal newsrooms provide informative news on a local level. Now, I’m not talking about Eyewitness News at 5, 7 and 11pm, I’m talking about news that big networks and major publications don’t have time to cover. For example, air/water quality reports, residential development that may affect property taxes, or stories about local residents making their homes environmentally friendly.

To get a sense of what's taking shape in the hyperlocal news community, media professionals were invited to attend Sustain Local 2016 - a national conference on journalism sustainability, which took place on Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7, 2016.

(Image by TC's Views: #SustainLocal2016)

The conference, now in its third year, was hosted by the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey.  

To fully understand what Sustain Local was trying to achieve, I spoke with several media professionals and asked them to share their main take-aways from the conference. 

“This conference was addressing the hyperlocals about monetizing and financing,” explained Jane Primerano, Region 1 Director of the Society of Professional Journalists. “I know many people who are struggling with hyperlocals.”

Search #SustainLocal on Twitter to see what topics moved attendees during the conference.

Hyperlocals are usually run by veteran journalists who were squeezed out of traditional newsrooms due to layoffs and community weeklies that went out of business. Many of these hyperlocal journalists have multiple roles within their organization, which may include finding innovative ways to generate revenue. “Your average reporter is a terrible sales person,” said Primerano. “Those skills do not overlap.” 

Hyperlocals have a reputation of being run by a sole individual. However, a 2015 survey conducted by Arizona State University assistant professor Monica Chadha, found that some hyperlocals have more than 20 employees. And some of those hyperlocal employers are strapped for cash. 

“Journalism needs cash,” said freelance journalist Noah Levinson. “You have to find somebody to support it one, way or another.” Levinson’s take-away from the Sustain Local Conference does have merit but no matter what the business model, newsrooms will always have this problem, especially hyperlocal outlets.

After surveying 210 participants from 144 hyperlocals, Chadha’s research found that 39 percent of their annual revenues came from banner ads. The next tier of revenues came from grants, private foundations and subscribers, which collectively made up nearly 16 percent.

Sustain Local had prominent industry movers and shakers participate on a number of panel discussions where attendees learned innovative ways to rake in additional revenue. 

(Image by TC's Views: John Mooney founder of NJ Spotlight)

Hosting tutorial webinars and events are just some of the ways hyperlocal news outlets can stream additional revenue. “A good third of our income came from events,” John Mooney, founding editor of NJ Spotlight, said during the panel - How 501(c)3 News Organizations are Finding Sustainability.

Nevertheless, holding on to extra income may become a problem for some hyperlocals, especially since advertising is shifting to the social media platform, Facebook, observed Miriam Ascarelli, who teaches journalism and composition at New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

“If I were a local publisher, that would be a huge red flag for me,” said Ascarelli. “ You have to have a strategy for keeping those advertising dollars in your news organization and not let somebody else take them.”

(Image from Twitter: Michael Oreskes)

The chatter of advertising dollars and how to generate additional revenue at hyperlocal newsrooms finally subsided when Sustain Local’s keynote, Michael Oreskes, senior vice president of news at National Public Radio, took the stage. 

As an avid public radio listener, I gave a round of applause when Oreskes said, “People want to support local journalism because they depend on it.” And he’s absolutely right. 

Hyperlocal newsrooms are more connected to people in the communities they cover than traditional local news outlets. These days it seems like newsrooms only report about celebrity mishaps, crime and multiple alarm fires. As a results, some traditional newsrooms neglect to balance out their coverage with local community stories. 

It’s a good thing there’s a batch of community news organizations taking initiative to give the general public just a little bit more. Hopefully, traditional local newsrooms and hyperlocals will be able to bridge the gap and just focus solely on providing informative news we all can use.

Do you have a favorite hyperlocal? What's your view on the culture of local news? Leave your comments in the box below or email your views to TCsView@gmail.com.

Podcast Alert! The conversation moved from Hyperlocal Newsrooms to sustainable environmental practices. You can hear the "sidebar conversation" on season two of Better Said Than Written - the podcast supplement to Artz of Culturez - via SoundClound and now on iTunes and Sticher.

Katherine Johnson: The Woman who Evolved at NASA

Black History Month continues to be educational and motivational. It's amazing what I found throughout social media feeds. I recently came across another accolade of Black American history. This time it revolves around a mathematician and her work with NASA.

(Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson)

* The following was spotted on Facebook and edited for clarity

A White man may have been the first to walk on the moon but, Katherine Johnson, a Black mathematician, got him there. 

A math genius, Johnson entered West Virginia State University, a Historically Black College, at the age 15. While there, professors at the campus competed to have the Johnson in their classes. 

Henrietta Lacks: The Most Influential Person in Medicine

Thanks to social media, Black History Month has become more engaging and has uncovered stories that you probably never learned in grade school. Just last week one of my connections shared the following story about Henrietta Lacks on their timeline.  

*The following appeared on Facebook and edited for clarity

Lacks was a Black tobacco farmer from southern Virginia who was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She died in 1951 at the age of  31. 

Emerging Artist: Jones

Another soulful singer from across the pond has hit the music scene. Cherie Jones, an East London native, caught my attention as I was scrolling through Hearst digital project Sweet on SnapChat's Discover page. 

Jones performed her original song, Hoops, on Huw Stephens Presents — Sweet Sessions. Hoops was produced by XO and Josh Record. Yes, Record is his real last name, which is perfect for a producer.

Jones' performance was accompanied by an electric guitar, which I personally prefer over her completed track on SoundCloud. 



During the sit down session with Huw Stephens, Jones said Hoops is about one person putting more into a relationship than the other. The lyrics sounds like we've all experienced this at one point and time in our lives ... right? "I got to jump through hoops to get to get to you."

Jones natural beauty shines gives her genuine raw talent a boost. Her voice, like her personality, is soft and soulful. Her personal style has a hint of the 1980s and early 1990s with her hi-waisted, loose fitting mom jeans, tank top and half messy bun.

I'm definitely looking forward to hearing and seeing more from this young British artist. 

If you like what you've seen and heard, keep up with Jones here:

facebook.com/jones

twitter.com/iseejones

instagram.com/iseejones

If you're an Emerging Artist and would like to be featured on Artz of Culturez, e-mail your tracks to TCsViews@gmail.com.

Related Stories

• Emerging Artist: Billie Black
• Emerging Artist: Paula Boggs
• Emerging Artist: Doug Seegers

Guest Post: 4 Tips to Launch & Preserve Your Personal Brand

(Created by TC's Views via Canva.com)

Depending on what career path you’ve taken, you’ve probably blended into the culture of personal branding. Artists, bloggers, business owners, entrepreneurs, journalist, musicians and writers are just a short list of people who focuses on their individual trademark in the digital world.

OK, so you may think that having a personal brand may be a bit narcissistic. You may be right but you should reconsider especially if you’re trying to increase your chances of making a career move or launching that great idea you’ve been dreaming about. 

In this guest article, Marsha Friedman, who is the author of Celebritize Yourself, shares four things you can do to get your personal brand up and running.  

Art Tip Tuesday: Artists, Where Are Your Websites?

To change things up a bit, I’m stepping away from Rhonda Schaller’s tips for a brief moment. Don’t worry; I have at least seven more of the curator’s tips to share with you in upcoming posts.

As I stroll through art shows, street fairs and art galleries, the main question I hear from art aficionados is, ‘Do you have a website?’ Too many times I hear artists respond with, ‘Oh, I’m working on it. It’s coming.’ But nothing ever comes.

This week I wanted to emphasize the importance of your online presence. It’s one of the key things that will get you into the doors of exhibitions at a museum or an art gallery.

International Women’s Day: Patricia Brintle

Rebuilding Haiti Through Art

Patricia Brintle - founder of From Here to Haiti

Although International Women’s Day has passed there is always time to let you know about another inspiring female multicultural artists who is making a difference in humanity with her art. With that said, I like to introduce you to Patricia Brintle, a Haitian born artist residing in Queens, New York. Brintle is on mission to help those rattled by the catastrophic earthquake that struck the island of Haiti more than four years ago. 

Are you living your dreams?

For the last several days my Facebook and Instagram feeds have been blowing up with images and quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Most of the comments and messages are from Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream," speech which contains a list of inspirational dreams. Some of those dreams have manifested into something greater than I ever imagined. For example, I never thought that I would live to see the day that an African American would be elected as president, twice. 

Mahalia Jackson & MLK(bottom right) 

If Dr. King listened to his advisers who told him not to do the "I Have a Dream" speech for the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, I'm pretty sure the United States would be very different today. Good thing Dr. King listened to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson who shouted out: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!"  (YouTube clip of the speech below)

Miss. Needy vs. Miss. Independent

The other day the image on the right hand side of your screen managed to hit my Facebook news feed.

The post triggered a memory from a conversation I had with an old family friend that turned into a heated debate about independent women.

My family friend, who I'll call Bruce, is on his second marriage and is now mulling around the idea of a second divorce. "I've decided to just call it quits and pay alimony."

That's two women and two children he's taking care of. I asked him what the problem might be. "It seems that I only date needy women." I quickly corrected him and told him that he was attracted and drawn to needy women. "When you've settled your heart and mind after your divorce you may want to consider dating independent women," I advised.

Resolution for 2014: Stick to the Plan

It’s that time of year again, resolution time. People are sharing their annual goals on social media sites and pushing #resolutions2014 into the trending topic list. So far I’ve seen the following:

·         New Year, New Me

·         Get a new job

·         Limit my time of Facebook

·         Exercise

·         Get better friends

·         Get rid of toxic friends

·         Travel

·         Take care of me

No, these aren’t my resolutions for 2014 but I’ve seen these and a list of others in my newsfeeds leading up to 2014. (Ok, well two of those were mine from 2013. I now have better friends and I keep the toxic ones at a distance.)

I recently told a friend of mine to write out his resolutions. “I must admit that putting it on paper surely put the things that are important to me into perspective,” he wrote in an e-mail.

More Than a Selfie

When the story of President Barack Obama taking a 'selfie' with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt during Nelson Mandela's memorial service hit my LinkedIn Pulse feed I was taken aback. The headline, which came from Mashable, read -- "Dear Obama: Funerals Are No Place for Selfies." My response on my @TamikaCody Twitter account … -- Remind me again on what the definition of newsworthy stories are. 

Apparently this was a big story for the social media world. Tons of comments questioning the behavior of President Obama started to trickle in on my Facebook feed. "Do you think President Obama was being disrespectful taking a selfie." Other organizations were more concerned about the look on Michelle Obama's face. "Michelle doesn't look too happy," one commenter wrote. 

The more these rants appeared in my social media feeds the more irritated I became.

Oh SNAP!

Is it me, or is there an overwhelming amount of racist jabs on social media these days?

Throughout the month of October 2013 I saw one too many racial insults in my Facebook news feed. One post in particular got more than 50 comments. The gripe was about Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards being accepted in hair salons.

At first I wondered, “Why would food stamps be accepted at a hair salon?” As I read through the comments I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was thinking the same thing. “Does (the owner) have the business listed as a salon/food store,” one Facebook user asked. “You are selling food at the shop now???” Those comments made me realize that I wasn’t crazy and in fact, there is no correlation between food stamps and hair salons. But then the comments started to get repulsive and in my humble opinion, flat out racists.

Some comments went from taking cheap shots at women who prefers to wear protective hair styles, “O shit weaves on EBT?” One FB user took their best shot of mimicking Ebonics, “Girls got to get her hair did.” After reading the comment about “bringing in the China man to do nails,” that was my cue to log off and shut down my laptop.

Shout out to Jay Z: Stick with Barneys!

  

After word got out that a 19 year-old Black American man filed a $5 million claim against high-end retailer Barneys because he was racially profiled and retained in NYPD’s custody after purchasing a $350 belt, the news feeds of social media sites got flooded with rage. Turns out that Twitter and Facebook fans of Jay Z, aka Shawn Carter, wants the Brooklyn, N.Y.-born rapper to end his partnership with Barneys over the matter.

To be honest, I really think everyone is overreacting. Why is it that every time that something goes down in Black American communities Black celebrities have to be scrutinized in the process?

Looking for work via LinkedIn

Local news producer writes off social media site in her job search

It's very rare that I share my work life on my personal Facebook page. So when I snapped a couple of photos and posted them with the caption "Working. Come sit in the hot seat" I was surprised how many of my Facebook Friends were interested.

One friend asked, "What does this job entail?" I explained to my Facebook friend, who also happens to be a fellow journalist and former classmate from University of South Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communications, that, "I'm a managing editor of a financial trade publication, which has a website and an online TV portal."