Hyperlocal Publishers Form a Trade Group
A group of 22 local online news organizations have announced that they are forming a trade association. The parameters and potential activity of the association remain largely undefined, but the group includes some of the better-known names in indie hyperlocal publishing, including The Batavian’s Howard Owens, Baristanet’s Debra Gallant, and Oakland Local’s Susan Mernit…
Baristanet’s Debra Galant: How Patch Is Like Wal-Mart
Since its 2004 launch, Essex County, New Jersey-based Baristanet has often been held up as a hyperlocal news success story. Veteran journalists Liz George and Debra Galant created their local information site to be like a coffee shop where people in the three suburban towns they covered could learn about small-scale news and events around them.
Street Fight spoke recently with Galant about the site’s scope and history, whether stories about potholes can really be monetized, and what she thinks of AOL’s Patch...
With NJ News Co-op, Prof. Deb Galant Keeps to Her Hyperlocal Roots
In July 2012, the Baristanet founder decamped for the nearby groves of academe – to the new Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. Not surprisingly, Galant stayed true to her entrepreneurial spirit, launching the center’s NJ News Commons, which brings together news organizations from around the state to share stories and resources. Street Fight caught up with Galant recently to find out more about the news co-op, and why the project is important for hyperlocals…