The functions of a traditional, printed community newspaper are to:
- Tell stories that have meaning locally
- Unite small communities
- Provide community calendars and event listings
- Bring hyper-local issues to light
- Provide ads for relevant local businesses
Unfortunately, many hyper local papers are dying off instead of evolving. It doesn’t have to be this way.
What if, in addition to the above mentioned traditional items offered by a print publication, local community news organizations could serve to:
- Build the local community and make it stronger
- Provide a way to unite community members and give them an amplified voice
- Connect people hyper-locally in a meaningful way
- Create an interactive calendar anyone can add to
- Create ongoing discussions between real members of the community
- Create monthly polls, gather feedback and put change into action
- In addition to reporting, let real people tell their own stories to the community
New web technologies offer the ability to easily do all of this and so much more. Yes, print is dead/dying. But, the people smart enough to evolve their brands and take advantage of new tools can create something even better for their local communities.
If your local community newspapers are merely shrinking in influence or closing their doors without trying anything new, it presents a huge opportunity for you to step in and create something better.
I’m not talking about a shut-gun approach here, this should not be something built by people miles away in Silicon Valley.
For this to have meaning and work hyper locally it needs to be done by someone who lives in the community, has a passion/understanding of the community, and wants to lay the groundwork for the evolution of the traditional, print community newspaper.
Doesn’t picking up a newspaper from a box or stack outside a restaurant seem outdated and irrelevant? Locally, the organizations that enable community building and two-way communication, embracing tools that are less wasteful and far more useful will be the winners of tomorrow.
Newspapers Still Have Much to Learn About The Web
Startup Idea: A Social Network/Web Service Connecting Bloggers with Public Relations People
7 comments so far
i dont think its irrelevant at all. communities need an outlet for news somewhere and parents, schools, all those places love those kind of publications.
July 16th, 2008@nicole – yes, but what I was getting at is don’t you think the web enables a much better, enhanced and interactive version of this that actually lets everyone have a say?
What if instead of a printed community newspaper, a hyperlocal social network was setup to do all the traditional functions of a printed community paper AND all the amazing new social functions of the web.
The web truly empowers the democratization of news and information locally and makes it far more valuable. Print is just so much less effective in comparison.
I may be a few years ahead of myself, but in the future your print rag you pick up outside a restaurant will evolve into an interactive social tool. The people that start on these sites *now* will be the ones running the important local community organizations of tomorrow.
July 16th, 2008I agree with you here. I think we can safely say print is dying and it’s not an if situation, it’s a when situation.
The newspapers (and giant media companies in general) need to evolve and innovate – not sit around and try to catch up with technology from 5 years ago. The newspapers are so behind and falling more behind every day.
They need to read this post and brainstorm alternative ideas to continue their evolution. :)
July 16th, 2008the local newspaper in my area is the fastest growing in the whole of Australia. I don’t think that local newspapers are going to die any time soon.
July 16th, 2008@Tom – I can’t speak for Australia, but the trend we have going in the USA is they are all shrinking.
July 21st, 2008Trackbacks
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