Community News’ Fight to Succeed: ‘Sustain Local 2016’ Put It All Together

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Seeing their very survival at stake, local news sites are starting to revamp their models and sometimes scrap them for new ones. Some of the best of what’s happening in the besieged industry was put on display at the recent “Sustain Local 2016” conference.

How Community News Can Win Respect — And Bring in Revenue

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“You can’t always focus on monetization,” says 30A’s Mike Ragsdale. “You have to focus on what’s good for the community and for your audience. In my experience, if you do that, the money will eventually follow. Put others first, and they’ll inevitably support you.”

With 8 Sites in Brooklyn, ‘Indie’ Corner Media Reports Doubling of Ad Revenue

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Brooklyn is home to scores of fast-changing neighborhoods that are reshaping New York City’s largest borough. Seven of these neighborhoods are the turf of Corner Media Group, the independent mini-network that entrepreneur Liena Zagare has assembled over the past several years.

Are Community News Sites and Investors Ready for Each Other?

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Venture-capital and angel investors have been avoiding digital community news — but there’s no mystery about why. There are some profitable one-offs, but most investors aren’t interested in one-offs. They want to put their money in the possibility of a good-sized payoff. That will only come with community news that is part of a network…

How One Community News Project Grew From One Blog to 30 Sites

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When Kerry Anne Ducey started blogging in her suburban community of Ridgefield, CT. in 2009, what happened within the several square miles of this 300-year-old community of about 25,000 people was the center of her journalistic universe. Today her HamletHub is a partnership of 30 community websites in the Connecticut-New York suburbs, which she says will soon grow to 45 sites…

Street Fight Daily: Groupon’s Big Acquisition Closes, Shopify Revamps iOS App

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.Groupon Finalizes $260 Million Deal for Ticket Monster, LivingSocial’s Korean Business (Recode)… Uber Driver Hits, Kills Six-year-old Girl. Is “Not our Problem” Still an Appropriate Response? (Pando)… Shopify Revamps Its iOS App With A Focus On Payments And Store Management (TechCrunch)…

In the Era of Networked Local Journalism, Everyone Can Contribute

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A big opportunity exists for local publishers and media networks to curate and aggregate everything happening in a locality. This is the journalism of inclusion. If local contributors are curated and authorized to post in real time, content distribution is more efficient. As readers learn to understand this format, local media starts to look more like a community bulletin board, with users expected to factor in the credibility of the posters…