Nieman Lab
What's happening Around the Web
One of our functions here at the Center is to be "surrogate readers" for Texas community journalists. Keeping up with the fast-changing world of community journalism has never been harder, and community journalism is now the "hot" area in mass communications.
But you have a paper to put out, and a Website to maintain. A few of you may even have a life.
So we'll help you keep up with what folk around the nation are saying about our field — about community journalism specifically and the wider world of newspapers and news Websites in general.
July 30, 2009
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Check out this new model for community journalism
Shortly after the Ann Arbor News closed, AnnArbor.com went live. The site has an interesting format -- it's rather blog-like -- and it screams hyperlocal. It's definitely worth looking at if you're a community journalist. And on top of the interesting format for news, they've also rethought advertising in a unique way. Check out the articles for more information. The first link, from the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard, covers the reasoning behind the sites layout and delves into the ad issue as well. See the other two links for some commentary on the site from Steve Buttry and Jeff Jarvis.
June 25, 2009
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Ad experiment targets local, low-budget advertisers
This is definitely an advertising concept that I can see working for community newspapers. The Nieman Lab has a story op about MinnPost's experiment with "real-time advertising." They're sort of a technologically-updated version of classified ads that are powered by micro-updates from businesses.
June 9, 2009
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API report offers ideas on generating online revenue
There was a meeting in Chicago last week of top newspaper executives to talk about paid content. They heard a number of pitches from entrepreneurs who suggested new ways to generate online revenues. The link above will take you to a Newspaper Economic Action Plan prepared for the meeting by the American Press Institute, offering recommendations on charging for online content. There are all kinds of ideas here, some you may like better than others, but definitely worth your time to check them out.
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New Jersey newspaper experiments with (expensive) paid content
The Newport Daily News is trying an interesting experiment in online news. They're using a tiered subscription model, with the most expensive tier being a $345-a-year electronic edition.
