NeighborhoodCircle already operates in three communities with more site launches planned for the rest of the year. The site links to more than 90 papers owned by the Sun-Times Group, but serves as a place for community members to talk about what they can't find in their local papers.

It’s also a great opportunity for advertisers to target hyper-specific audiences.

The site includes calendars of community events, blogs that residents can both write in and comment on, and forums on community issues like taxes.

"This is all about community journalism," said Fred Lebolt, vice president of new media for the Sun-Times News Group. "It's for and about the community."

NeighborhoodCircle follows the trend of hyperlocal, citizen journalism provided by newspapers online and websites like Topix.net. Often, this content fills a need for relevant, local news that the Internet doesn’t yet provide.

Source: Yahoo Business