Local, community, you: an exemplary news site is born
Posted by John Burke on May 15, 2006 at 12:41 PM
If you talk to any media watcher nowadays, they don’t hesitate to tell you that the globalized world of 24-hour news stations and humongous international news organizations means that smaller newspapers need to focus more on their immediate communities. They also won’t flinch in mentioning that most local newspapers are doing a poor job. A few models of the “new newspaper” exist to which they refer enthusiastically. But a recently launched local website has joined the fray and could become the new reference point. The difference is, it’s not a newspaper.
Launched on April 10, the High Plains Messenger in Colorado’s Pikes Peak region is an Internet-based publication that has dedicated itself to covering the area. In fact, its “About Us” explanation starts, “This site is for you, the community of the Pikes Peak region.”
Built on Movable Type blogging software, the site is less static than your everyday news site. It allows reporters to post stories from wherever and enables readers to comment on every article keeping the “conversation” moving.
Still in beta, the website isn’t running completely smoothly yet. But the infrastructure is there and is showing much promise. “The website will offer daily multimedia coverage of local issues, magazine-style investigative journalism, citizen journalism, breaking news from the Associated Press, podcasts, pet obituaries, extensive arts and nightlife coverage, free classifieds, free daily and Sunday access to the New York Times crossword, a local auction site, a local history WIKI and more,” continues the “About Us.”
This explanation sounds just like the “indispensable community hub” that this blog and other media pundits have been talking up. It’s still too soon to tell if they’ll work, but here are some of the cool features that give the site potential:
1. Design: On a website, navigability is everything and the High Plains Messenger reads like a GPS guides your car to its destination. The sections are listed in the left-hand column and mousing over them makes the sub-sections visible. The main headlines flash across the screen backed by colorful images. Scrolling down the page, news, arts & entertainment and features articles are simple to read and all accompanied by a relevant photo. Advertising decorates the edges of each page and does not intrude on reading comfort as some Internet ads tend to do.
2. “Local history wiki”: Although it doesn’t seem to yet be functional, a wiki that invites the community to document its own history is an innovative idea and one that will give a more complete picture for posterity than local government accounts. Downside: see “wikitorials.”
3. Listings: In making a site “indispensable,” every aspect of the community needs to be organized on the website. As previously mentioned on this blog, restaurants, concerts, bars, art exhibitions, etc. don’t just need to be reviewed, but listed for readers along with the proper hyperlinks and contact information. Again, the Messenger hasn’t completed the listings but it’s working on it. It does, however, have a comprehensive calendar of local events that let's readers add events.
4. Classifieds: in the spirit of Craig, the Messenger offers free classifieds but includes advertising on the pages. Seeing what people are buying and selling is certainly essential to a community and a hyperlocal site will be more effective than Craig’s regional ones.
5. Suggestions: the editorial board, although having encouraged citizen contributions and comments, maintains some welcome control. The articles listed on the homepage are those which they think are most relevant to the community and there’s even a section called “Messenger Suggests” in which the publication points readers to what they feel are the hottest events in the area and features on their site.
6. It’s all about the snark: In the spirit of alternative weeklies, just about every article on the Messenger includes some snide comments that keep the reading interesting and fun. For example, some features headlines include, “Our favorite gins: a Mother’s Day Special,” “Sex, Violence, and the National Day of Prayer,” and “Grape Nuts: To Screw or not to Screw.” They include the kind of writing that engages the community, getting them more involved in their surroundings and enticing them to react.
All in all, the High Plains Messenger is a project to keep an eye on. We’ll check in on it from time to time and let you know how it’s developing. It is sure to give you some great ideas for adapting your newspaper to the online world.
Source: Westword, High Plains Messenger
Built on Movable Type blogging software, the site is less static than your everyday news site. It allows reporters to post stories from wherever and enables readers to comment on every article keeping the “conversation” moving.
Still in beta, the website isn’t running completely smoothly yet. But the infrastructure is there and is showing much promise. “The website will offer daily multimedia coverage of local issues, magazine-style investigative journalism, citizen journalism, breaking news from the Associated Press, podcasts, pet obituaries, extensive arts and nightlife coverage, free classifieds, free daily and Sunday access to the New York Times crossword, a local auction site, a local history WIKI and more,” continues the “About Us.”
This explanation sounds just like the “indispensable community hub” that this blog and other media pundits have been talking up. It’s still too soon to tell if they’ll work, but here are some of the cool features that give the site potential:
1. Design: On a website, navigability is everything and the High Plains Messenger reads like a GPS guides your car to its destination. The sections are listed in the left-hand column and mousing over them makes the sub-sections visible. The main headlines flash across the screen backed by colorful images. Scrolling down the page, news, arts & entertainment and features articles are simple to read and all accompanied by a relevant photo. Advertising decorates the edges of each page and does not intrude on reading comfort as some Internet ads tend to do.
2. “Local history wiki”: Although it doesn’t seem to yet be functional, a wiki that invites the community to document its own history is an innovative idea and one that will give a more complete picture for posterity than local government accounts. Downside: see “wikitorials.”
3. Listings: In making a site “indispensable,” every aspect of the community needs to be organized on the website. As previously mentioned on this blog, restaurants, concerts, bars, art exhibitions, etc. don’t just need to be reviewed, but listed for readers along with the proper hyperlinks and contact information. Again, the Messenger hasn’t completed the listings but it’s working on it. It does, however, have a comprehensive calendar of local events that let's readers add events.
4. Classifieds: in the spirit of Craig, the Messenger offers free classifieds but includes advertising on the pages. Seeing what people are buying and selling is certainly essential to a community and a hyperlocal site will be more effective than Craig’s regional ones.
5. Suggestions: the editorial board, although having encouraged citizen contributions and comments, maintains some welcome control. The articles listed on the homepage are those which they think are most relevant to the community and there’s even a section called “Messenger Suggests” in which the publication points readers to what they feel are the hottest events in the area and features on their site.
6. It’s all about the snark: In the spirit of alternative weeklies, just about every article on the Messenger includes some snide comments that keep the reading interesting and fun. For example, some features headlines include, “Our favorite gins: a Mother’s Day Special,” “Sex, Violence, and the National Day of Prayer,” and “Grape Nuts: To Screw or not to Screw.” They include the kind of writing that engages the community, getting them more involved in their surroundings and enticing them to react.
All in all, the High Plains Messenger is a project to keep an eye on. We’ll check in on it from time to time and let you know how it’s developing. It is sure to give you some great ideas for adapting your newspaper to the online world.
Source: Westword, High Plains Messenger
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