Comments on: New York Times covers citizen journalism trend

By: tish grier

tish grier — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:45:14 +0000

one of the biggest problems with Tedeschi’s article was how it lumped sites like AmericanTowns.com in with sites like Baristanet and Westport now. Those are two *very* different kinds of citizen journalism models…indeed, AT.com feels more like a fancy bulleting board than a citizen journalism site–and the money to be made from it is going to people who are NOT connected to any of the communities the app desires to serve.

It is, after all, an app. Not citizen journalism.

Baristanet, WestportNow, iBrattleboro, The New Haven Independent, H2oTown, and many others are citizen journalism sites that are like small businesses–they are connected to communities, their writers living in those communities, and are free-standing. How their economic models play out *may* end up depending on different revenue streams these site owners develop to augment their cit j. This is not uncommon among many kinds of small businesses–freelance writing being one of those kinds of small businesses that depends on multiple related revenue streams.

As for social networking on the Times…they had it for years in their Forums. They just didn’t know it.

By: Gordon Joseloff

Gordon Joseloff — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:46:01 +0000

There is a passion to serve the community at WestportNow.com, but I also believe there is a going business for these types of local operations. We have put a digital stake in the ground that is gaining readers (and attention).

By: Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation and the Web » Blog Archive » Hyper-Local Getting Hyper-Exposed

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:09:27 +0000

[...] Danny Sanchez reflects on the Times’ piece, wondering whether these sites need to turn a profit, if they are managed by passionate individuals, and serving the good of the community. [...]

By: Danny Sanchez

Danny Sanchez — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:22:16 +0000

Liz, that’s excellent to hear about Baristanet being profitable. My fear is that so many of these local sites are operating in a type of dot-com-esque bubble. It would be a tremendous shame to lose them. However, I remain optimistic. Thanks for dropping in with your thoughts.

By: Liz George

Liz George — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:12:33 +0000

While Bob Tedeschi citizen journalism story is a nice look at the trend, I felt the story glossed over the profitability of the sites.

Interestingly, Tedeschi asked us about profitability, but I guess it didn’t make the final cut. Baristanet is making money and paying salaries, so there is profitability without VC money like Backfence, and without the style sacrifice of an AmericanTowns more corporate, one-site-fits-all approach.