Michele's List: Promising local news sites
This site list was last updated in June 2010. The list led to the establishment of Block by Block, a network of community news sites. The Michele's List website is now available here.
Community sites often rely on professional journalists but they tend to be bootstrappers who also focus on community building -- actively seeking user feedback and content, writing in a conversational tone, and fostering civic engagement with practices such as voting, calls to action, and partnerships with local organizations and activists.
Michele McLellan
- Alamo City Times, founded and produced by Patricio Espinoza, is a community-produced news blog that covers San Antonio, Texas. Topics: Local news, sports, politics, arts, dining. Revenue: Advertising. About The Alamo City Times. Bonus points: The site publishes a news map that geographically places news items on a map. See the post about The Alamo City Times from inothernews.us.
- B-Town Blog, with a small staff of nine, covers Burien, Wash., a Seattle suburb. Topics: Local news, politics, business, crime, sports, life. Revenue: Advertising, donations. About B-Town Blog. See the post about B-Town Blog from inothernews.us.
- Broken Sidewalk is a community-focused news site in Louisville. Topics: Local news, business, politics, government, events. Revenue: Advertising. Bonus points: The site includes a section called See.Click.Fix (a service used by other media sites around the country), which allows users to report non-emergency problems in the city and track progress. About Broken Sidewalk. See the post about Broken Sidewalk from inothernews.us.
- Chattarati is a group blog that covers Chattanooga news and opinion. Topics: Local government, politics, business, nonprofits, education and culture for the Chattanooga, Tenn. area. Also has hyperlocal neighborhood blogs. Revenue: Not apparent.
- Chicago Talks is run by Columbia College and gets most of its content from Columbia students. Topics: Local stories that other outlets are not covering, including Chicagor's poorer neighborhoods. Revenue: Grants, university support. Exploring advertising. Bonus points: Great training ground for students. About Chicago Talks.
- Church Hill People's News is an all-volunteer site that covers the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond, Va. Topics: Local news. Revenue: Advertising. Bonus points: The site features an "assignment desk" section, where readers can suggest story ideas and sign up to cover events for the site. About Church Hill People's News.
- NEW! The Civil Beat, using what the site calls "reporter-hosts," takes an in-depth look at issues facing Honolulu and the Hawaiian Islands. The "reporter-hosts" not only cover topics but also facilitate conversations about the stories with the site's users. Topics: Local news, education, business, land, etc. Revenue: A sophisticated membership model that requires users to be paid members to participate in the conversations on the site. Users can choose various membership options, each of which gives a different level of access to the content and conversations on the site. About The Civil Beat.
- The Fayetteville Flyer is locally owned and operated by Todd Gill and Dustin Bartholomew. Topics: Local news, arts and entertainment, life, sports, opinion. Revenue: Advertising, sponsorships. About Fayetteville Flyer.
- The Florida Independent, published by the American Independent News Network, covers news and politics in the state of Florida. Recently, the site received a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to increase investigative reporting. Revenue: Advertising, grants. About The Florida Independent.
- Gables Home Page is an interactive, non-profit news and information site, with an inter-generational focus, for the Coral Gables, Fla., community. Topics: News, events, culture, commentary. Revenue: Grants from Knight Foundation and Coral Gables Community Foundation, advertising and sponsorships. Partnership with University of Miami School of Communication and Miama Herald. About Gables Home Page.
- Gapers Block mixes original news and aggregation about little-covered stories in Chicago. Andrew Huff leads the site with about 80 volunteer contribuors and a group of editors who draw small stipends.Topics: A lively mix of Chicago news. Revenue: Advertising, t-shirts. Bonus points: Flat management keeps volunteers on board. About Gapers Block. (More from my January interview with Huff.)
- GrandAveNews.com is a news and multimedia site about West Coconut Grove, Fla. Topics: Community and family, education, business, religion. Revenue: Support from foundations and University of Miami School for Communication. About GrandAveNews.com.
- The Hill is Home is a non-profit, all-volunteer news blog for DC's Capitol Hill community. Topics: News, features, profiles, reviews, food, specific to life on the Hill. Revenue: Advertising. About The Hill is Home.
- Intersections: The South Los Angeles Report publishes local news from variety of contributors. The site is a supported through the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, and includes college students as contributors. Additionally, high school students from south LA contribute to the site through a media literacy program that pairs those students with USC students. Topics: Community news, arts, business, education, politics. About The South LA Report. See the post about the the South LA Report from inothernews.us
- Locally Grown Northfield is a weekly audio show and blog about people, issues and events in Northfield, Minn. The hosts and bloggers, Tracy Davis, Griff Wigley, Ross Currier, seek to engage community conversation online. Topics: Northfield, Minn., issues and people. Revenue: Membership. About Locally Grown Northfield.
- LouisvilleMojo, with a small staff of professional journalists, covers local news in the Louisville, Ky., area. The site encourages engagement by allowing users to post news and events. Topics: Local news, some politics, arts & entertainment, living, sports. Revenue: Advertising, grants. About LouisvilleMojo. See the post about LouisvilleMojo from inothernews.us.
- NEast Philly was created in 2008 to cover the northeast section of Philadelphia, an area of the city the site claims that often gets ignored by mainstream media. In spring 2010, the site plans to launch a print magazine. Topics: Local news, crime, politics, sports, events, opinion. Revenue: Advertising. Bonus points: A special section called Right NEast, Wrong NEast, which notes errors made about Northeast Philly from other media outlets and corrects them. About NEast Philly. See the post about NEast Philly from inothernews.us.
- NJ Spotlight provides in-depth coverage of stories in New Jersey, with a focus on those that encourage economic and community development. Topics: Education, government budgets, energy, healthcare. Revenue: Grants, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. About NJ Spotlight.
- New River Voice was a former biweekly print publication before going online-only in 2008. It covers news from southwest Virginia. Topics: Local news, features, arts & entertainment, outdoors, opinion. Revenue: Advertising, online store. About the New River Voice.
- NEW! NOWCastSA.com uses "community journalists" to produce local news about San Antonio, Texas. Topics: Local news, opinion, lifestyle, etc. Revenue: Grants, including one from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; sponsors. About NOWCastSA.com.
- Oakland Local is a community news site founded by Web entrepreneur Susan Mernit in Oakland, Calif. About. Topics: Environment, food, development, identity, arts & education. Revenue: Start up grant, advertising in the works. Bonus points: Savvy combination of community partnerships and strategic use of social media create community buzz. About Oakland Local.
- NEW! OpenFile is a collaborative news site based in Toronto. The premise of the site is to encourage users to get involved in the editorial process by proposing stories, sharing what they might know, and adding to the diversity of voices expressed in stories. Revenue: Sponsorships. About OpenFile.
- Open Media Boston reports local news with a small professional staff supplemented by citizen journalists. Topics: Local news, arts and living, tech, opinion. Revenue: Advertising, donations, foundation grants. Bonus points: Uses social media tools to solicit content submissions from readers. About Open Media Boston.
- Spot.us, a project of the Center for Media Change, provides a platform for journalists to pitch stories and for individuals to fund the reporting efforts. Spot.us piloted in Calfornia's Bay Area and is establishing a second site in Los Angeles. While it is not strictly a community news sites as we have defined it here, we believe that their focus on "community-powered reporting" is a model that could be used elsewhere. About Spot.us.
- TucsonSentinel.com is an independent, non-profit news site for the Tucson area. Topics: News, local government, immigration, arts, culture, sports, opinion. Revenue: Advertising, donations, membership. About Tucson Sentinel.
- Twin Cities Daily Planet is a rich community news site in Minneapolis-St. Paul founded by journalist Jeremy Iggers. Topics: Neighborhoods and communities, work & economy, politics & policy, arts & lifestyle, immigrants and immigration. Revenue: Donations, advertising, sponsorships, foundation grants. Bonus points: Aggregates dozens of community sites, including ethnic media, About Twin Cities Daily Planet.
- Vtdigger.org is a non-profit news site for Vermont. It was created to enhance democracy by citizens contributing the news and journalists verifying it. Topics: Government, business, community life. Revenue: Donations, business sponsorships, grants. About Vtdigger.org
