hyperlocal, news 2.0

Hyperlocal
Continuing the hyperlocal meme is a segment within the excellent PBS documentary, Frontline Newswar. An investigation into the future of news.
Part 3 examines the changing news scape. The impact of new, lower cost creation and distribution technologies, citing rocketboom.com, aaa and the dailykos.com as examples of the challengers to old media.
Rob Curley and his teams’ efforts at Lawrence Journal, Daily Naples and the Washington Post are highlighted as exemplars of hyperlocal. Using the web and online video to create a richer and more personal local news offering.

All four parts are online streaming in Quicktime or Windows Media.
Newswar is great viewing* and the site has a ton of additional interviews and resources. The Frontline team do not hold back on the issue of quality, standards and innovation within US news. Thought always in that classic, understated, serious documentary style.

‘Why TV News Sucks’
David Rosenblum, the digital videojournalist, on the other hand tells it straight up. In a post entitled Why TV News Sucks he rails against the same old format of news production “Guy at a desk with a box over his shoulder” and pleads for innovation.

Newspapers: As is, to be
Mark Glaser looks at imagining a future tense for newspapers using “as is”/”will be” couplets for contrast.

The way it is: Newspapers try to cover all the news themselves.
The way it will be: “Cover what you do best. Link to the rest.”

NZ?
So whilst the portals assemble their own corporate mashups where is the hyperlocal in NZ? Will the big print players get into their own video production? Or will we see the rise of a new class of independent and locally focused cross media organisations?

*I’ve watched most of Part 3 and one segment of Part 1. Having to watch video at your desk on your computer isn’t a great experience. This subject deserves a post on its own.