The New York Times is expanding its experiments with hyperlocal content by partnering with FWIX, a service that uses proprietary software to filter and aggregate geographically pinpointed information from blogs, news sites, and social media sites.
Ken Doctor, a journalist with extensive experience in the industry, covers the transformation of new media for Seeking Alpha. In yesterday’s blog post, Doctor analyzes the Times‘ pursuit of local content and its competition with The Wall Street Journal in its own attempts. Dow Jones, which owns the WSJ, partnered with Outside.in for local content just last fall.
Doctor references a report on the 2010 outlook for local advertising dollars from Borrell Associates. The report indicates that $15 billion will be spent on local online advertising this year. Another report by Kelsey predicts a growth in local online advertising expenditures up to $36.7 billion by 2014. The larger national newspapers are now beginning to fight for those local dollars.
Doctor writes (emphasis is his):
The local dailies are increasingly becoming purely local, and the national papers are getting local, adding local print editions, getting hyperlocal, finding ways to serve their readers’ (and advertisers’) needs beyond national/global.
[…] It’s a confusing landscape. What’s local? What’s national? What’s digital? What’s print? It’s a patchwork age, and nobody’s got the answers, but as home turfs have shrunken everywhere, everyone’s looking for new lands to conquer.
The Times‘ partnership with FWIX follows its partnership with New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, announced last month. NYU journalism students will publish The Local: East Village, a blog with hyperlocal Manhattan content to be hosted on the Times‘ website.
Jim Schachter, digital initiatives editor for The New York Times, said, “We want to continue to expand our network of collaborations, in the New York area and across the country, through associations with individuals, companies and institutions that share our values — foremost, increasing the volume and scope of quality journalism about issues that matter.”
Source: “Remaking of the U.S. News Landscape: New York Times Local Experiments Grow,” Seeking Alpha, 03/18/10
Source: “NYU Partners With NY Times for Hyperlocal East Village Blog,” Mediaite, 02/23/10
Image by edenpictures, used under its Creative Commons license.