Trademark names in journalism may be hemorrhaging money, but one business model has proved sufficient to keep small and budding journalism projects afloat: the local focus.

It may come as a surprise to some, but the New York Times does not hold the highest circulation rates in the nation. No, that distinction belongs to the Daily Record of Dunn, NC, which has a 112 percent subscription rate in its coverage area. Never heard of it? Not many have, but that is not what is important, is it? What matters is that the people of Dunn know it, trust it and most importantly pay for it.

The Daily Record focuses exclusively on local news developments, which makes each page in the newspaper of relevant and proximate interest to the readers. It is not blind love that binds Dunn residents to the paper; it is the product, itself, that attracts subscribers and advertisers. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out,  “small-town papers often pay lip service to local news while filling their pages with generic wire stories;” successful ones, however, do the exact opposite. The columnist, Daniel Akst, continues:

In the newly chic little city of Hudson, the Register-Star tenaciously clings to life by delivering a rich diet of local politics, education news, crime, school sports and people stories. The 224-year-old paper’s recent history is a testament to the newspapers’ ability to hang on—and even thrive—despite hard times. With vague talk of a newspaper bailout in the air, it’s noteworthy that the Hudson-Catskill Newspaper Group, which includes some nearby siblings, finished last year in the black, according to its publisher.

This model of news-gathering has carried over into new media websites and blogs. The Franklin Center is working with a group of reporters at the Watchdog Network project that focus specifically on issues affecting state and local government. Such journalistic endeavors can only help to better inform the populace and safeguard transparency at the state and local level.

Similar sites have earned the respect of traditional media outlets. The New Jersey Press Association began issuing press credentials to reporters at theAlternativePress.com, a network of citizen journalists across the state that cover local news developments. As former Forbes editor Scott Reeves observes, “TheAlternativePress.com covers news the New York Times and even Newark, New Jersey-based Star-Ledger can’t. And it may represent the future of local news by delivering what advertisers crave: a clearly defined audience.”

Tags: Citizen Journalism, Journalism, Journalist, local media, Media, New Media, Newspaper, Watchdog.org

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 10:42 am and is filed under Blog, Featured.