News from the neighbor's garden

 
Press America's crisis-ridden newspaper publishers discover "hyperlocal journalism". 
Hyperlocal news, i.e. local reporting dedicated to even the smallest and seemingly insignificant local events, is becoming a beacon of hope for the crisis-ridden newspaper industry in the USA. At a time when national and international news is instantly available from numerous sources and via the Internet, stories from the neighborhood are becoming precious tidbits of information that can only be accessed via very specific channels.one of the publishers that has perfected the concept down to the smallest detail is the newspaper giant Gannett. The country's largest publisher not only owns the national daily newspaper USA Today, but also 85 local papers across the entire United States. A year ago, Gannett introduced the so-called Information Center, which means that the newsrooms of each local newspaper no longer only determine the print content, but also distribute the content centrally on platforms such as Internet or cell phone.
More importantly, readers are involved in the reporting by encouraging them to pass on tips and observations to the editorial team. "The information center starts with the customers, what they want to know," says Sue Clark-Johnson, head of the Gannett newspaper business. "It's no longer about us picking the news for them." The calculation is to find new advertising customers among small and medium-sized companies that place advertisements in the print versions or on the associated websites.
However, Gannett does not want to employ so-called citizen journalists - citizens of a city who provide journalistic work for an established medium. They are to be involved by asking them for advice, but leaving the selection and writing of the stories to professional journalists.
"If local newspapers and their websites don't report on something because it might only interest a few hundred readers, they're not doing themselves any favors," says Mark Krzos, who works at the Gannett News Press newspaper in Fort Myers, Florida. He is a so-called mobile journalist, also known as a "MoJo", which means that he spends most of his time doing research or in his car, where he writes his stories and then rushes off to the next appointment. He covers everything in the course of a day, from a senior softball game or the latest traffic jam downtown to trash issues at the beach. "If local newspapers refuse to provide this service, they can pack their bags," says Krzos.
The Washington Post also began an experiment with hyperlocal journalism a year ago by launching the website LoudounExtra.com, where it covers the daily happenings in a Washington suburb called Loundoun. But while the site is smartly done, it hasn't gotten the desired reception, largely attributed to the fact that the site wasn't promoted within the Washington Post and important local events in Loudoun weren't linked to on the Post's website. Critics point out that the Washington Post is an international brand that could ruin its reputation with a hyperlocal approach.
Brian Steffens, Director of the National Newspaper Association, considers this to be pessimism. "Local news is a gap in the market, even for big newspaper publishers, because you don't get it in other media like TV or radio to the same extent," he says. "Why should they limit themselves to national reporting? That would be like saying I sell ice cream, but only vanilla ice cream."
Gerti Schön, New York