Guide to local watchdog news sites
April 23, 2009 · Filed Under Great Work Gallery, Resources, Social Media
PBS MediaShift has published a guide to all the newish local watchdog news sites that have popped up over the past few years as online-only places for original journalism — from New West to the Arizona Guardian to MinnPost to Voice of San Diego.
Many of these startups are staffed with former newspaper reporters and they are all experimenting with a mix of business models: non-profit, donations, crowdfunding, paid content, ads and more. This guide provides a rundown of some of these sites.
“The problem is that many of these new sites simply repurpose the newspaper model: run the same types of newspaper stories you see in print without taking advantage of the web. Most could use better eye-catching designs online and tend to be very text-heavy. Plus, few of these sites are doing the kind of database and map mash-ups that are a hallmark of the new brand of online journalism that brings readers back.”
