On his blog, Howard Owens says “local news is vertical” and explains that local papers need to aim for ownership of local news and information across many platforms, especially on the Web.

Owens says, “The last thing you should do is outsource community participation. You need to own your relationships with your best customers — your readers and your contributors, the people in the local community that make it what it is — a community.”

He talks about Media News signing a deal to turn over commenting functions to Topix, calling partnerships like this a “strategic mistake of monumental proportions.”

Owens straightforwardly says, “Topix is not your friend” calling it a “vendor with an express intent of beating you in your own market.”

Comments should not be outsourced for this reason: according to Owens they are vital to the success of a website. If they are done in the right manner they can spark profiles and social networking and hopefully tighter bonds within the community that can lead to more contributing from community members.

Source: howardowens.com through Ifra Executive News Service