Hyperlocal vs. Traditional Media

Photo credit: chrisdlugosz



Hyperlocal sites have recently sprung up all over the web.  The concept has become very popular because the sites exclusively focus on the place they are writing about, and even small towns like to know the news on Main Street.  Sites such as TBD, Patch, EveryBlock.com, Outside.in and NeighborsGo....  The success of thehave sprung up everywhere to report localized news. These sites however, is still to be determined.
According to Newspaper Death Watch, most hyperlocal sites face similar barriers. "Small audiences are difficult to monetize in the first place; finding and converting advertisers to reach small audiences is expensive; advertisers are reluctant to spend a lot of money on online ads in general, particularly when the audiences are small."  TBD cut one third of their staff (12 employees) at the end of February, six months after its launch.  This occured because there was low traffic to the site.  Some critics say the rest of hyperlocal sites will be next. 

Ad Age Mediaworks reported on a study in which types of media outlets many local consumers get their weekly news from.  Out of one-thousand localists surveyed; 91 percent watch local television news once a week, 80 percent check print newspapers, 79 percent listen to the radio, 61 percent check local websites and 59 percent check local television websites.  Hyperlocal websites that offer community news are a bit behind with 38 percent weekly use. Two percent of localists use these sites as their primary source of news.

However, most sites are staying positive. Patch has more than 800 sites, and AOL spent 50 million dollars on the project.  The CEO of Patch is also planning to add 200 more locations in the near future.  Another site, NeighborsGo, has been up and running for two and a half years.

Ultimatley, the survival of hyperlocal sites will depend on how well they can compete with national news sources.