A while back, I urged freelance writers who were thinking of working for content sites like Helium.com or Demand Studios to take a stab at hyperlocal news instead.
Hyperlocal news is a catch-all phrase that describes websites or blogs devoted to covering a city, town or neighborhood, or a specific beat within a city or neighborhood like biking, books or tech start ups. Think of them as the 21st century equivalent of the neighborhood paper you used to pick up on the street corner, or the weekly paper your parents subscribed to so they could read about your high school sports teams.
Hyperlocal news ventures have popped up around the country, and I’ve mentioned several successful ones here before, including SealBeachDaily.com and NewzJunky.
If you’re interested in learning more about hyperlocal news, and you live within driving distance of Portland, plan now to attend a panel discussion on hyperlocal news I’m moderating at Portland’s Digital Journalism Camp on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Digital Journalism Camp PDX is a free one-day conference on the future of journalism and what it means to media practitioners. To date, close to 85 journalists, bloggers and freelance writers have signed up to attend.
Camp-style conferences - very popular right now in tech circles – are less formal than traditional conferences and normally include a mix of sessions on pre-determined topics along with sessions conference goers choose once they get there.
Organizer and Portland freelance writer Abraham Hyatt is still putting the finishing touches on the Digital Journalism Camp agenda. But the day is likely to include discussions of digital storytelling, podcasting, SEO for journalists, new media revenue models and more.
The hyperlocal news panel I’m moderating will feature proprietors of three ventures in Portland and Seattle:
- Cornelius Swart, publisher and managing editor, Portland Sentinel, a neighborhood newspaper in North Portland with a strong online component.
- Ken Aaron, co-founder, Neighborhood Notes, a news and entertainment site that covers Portland’s four quadrants.
- Justin Carder, Neighborlogs, a Seattle hyperlocal news site.
For a little preview of what we’ll be talking about, here’s Justin Carder’s analysis of how much money he thinks he’ll make this year at Neighborlogs, roughly $14,000.
Digital Journalism Camp takes place Saturday, Aug. 1, 9:30 a.m. to mid-afternoon and will be held at The Oregonian (yes, we get the irony too), 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97201.
Even though it’s free, space is limited, so sign up early.
I’ll be posting more information about the camp as it’s available. You can also follow camp news on Twitter at @journopdx.
Hey Michelle, I signed up with Yahoo but still can’t tell if I’m actually registered for the conference.
thanks.
Hi Michelle — This sounds fantastic. I’ve been contemplating a project like this for a while, and I think your panel would be a great place for me to get some info on how to go about it. Unfortunately, I won’t be in town that weekend (bummer). If you ever do another one, though, count me in!
Michelle,
I just registered on Yahoo! I guess since you used my site as an example I kind of have to be there…
Thank you for making me aware of this event, it looks to be an extremely valuable resource for the hyper local community.
Thanks for the link! Look forward to meeting you next Saturday.
Jan: It might take a few hours or a bit longer for your registration to actually show up – I know that’s what happened when I signed up. If you don’t see anything in a day or so, ping Abraham Hyatt at the @journopdx Twitter account.
Michelle R.
Sorry you can’t make it. I believe the conference organizer is arranging for the sessions to be videotaped. If that’s the case, I’ll post links here after that weekend.
Michelle