Making Sense of the Hyperlocal Landscape

New media guru Jeff Jarvis calls it the 'Holy Grail.' Michael Gluckstadt's Fast Company feature questioned its '$100 Billion Potential.' So what does 'hyperlocal' news look like today in the United States?

As newspapers shutter and traditional media models crumble, the public and private sectors have recognized a need, and perhaps a very lucrative opportunity, to invest in hyperlocal, or community-level, media.

In early October, National Public Radio announced they had received $3 million in grants to "develop in-depth, local coverage on topics critical to communities and the nation." Starting with 12 sites, the project has enormous potential given NPR's nearly 1,000 radio stations.

A couple weeks later Patch, recently purchased by AOL, launched an aggressive expansion to dozens of affluent cities in the New York metro area.

So how to make sense of the hyperlocal landscape?

Below, a brief look at where the various players are situated, how they fund their models, and the intrinsic pros and cons of their approaches to community-level coverage.

US Hyperlocal News Market -

 

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