NewsAssist: Neighborhood citizens have always looked to community newspapers as a reliable source of geographic information. Today, the far reach of the Internet has made it even easier to connect with these niche communities. Yet, the small budgets of these local daily and weekly publications inhibit quality online content and digital distribution. NewsAssist will empower community coverage and delivery.
By aggregating the content of community newspapers and supplementing their work with an in-house editorial staff dedicated to covering what these papers cannot, NewsAssist will bridge the gap between what these papers would like to do but can’t. The combined editorial products will be distributed on a web site that takes full advantage of technologies proven pivotal to journalism’s evolution on the web and take it another step forward: distributing content by cellular phone to neighborhoods still affected by the “digital divide.”
Circulation rates at daily newspapers are down 30 percent since 1964. Advertising revenues are down 16 percent since last year. But, ask many in the industry about the future of newspapers and they’ll likely foresee the same ending: It will go on. Neglected in this assumption is the most important part of the three-legged stool of advertising, editorial and circulation: readers.
Small communities, coverage of which was cut first as editors evaluated their tightening budgets, could very well revive the newspaper model. It is no coincidence that metro newspapers that have lost readers have also neglected neighborhoods.
“In many newsrooms—but especially in larger metro newspapers that are suffering the biggest drops in circulation and ad revenue—there is a gaping divide between overworked, career-conscious reporters and the communities they cover,” Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, said in a report for the American Journalism Review in September.
Bunch writes that even the small amount of community news that is reported lacks an essential quality; It fails to engage readers by speaking their language. “Language,” literally defined by city’s diverse, ethnic neighborhoods and “language” that express a neighborhood’s values, concerns and qualities. Metropolitan newspapers fail on both definitions.
Seemingly against all odds, small community weekly and daily newspapers compete against behemoth metros. Their front-page stories are what is important to the community activist, business owner, parent and child. With promises of reaching a very specific niche demographic, their advertising revenue is strong. It is no mistake that community newspapers are seeing tremendous growth.
According to a report by Suburban Newspapers of America, which represents 19 community newspapers in Philadelphia, first quarter 2008 results showed a decline in advertising revenue of 2.7 percent, mostly attributed to economic factors influencing the real estate and automotive industries. Compare that with 10 to 19 percent declines at large metros. It’s because of this that market availability for community newspapers is so high, according to an NPR story reported last year. “Twenty million Americans still get at least some of their news from these small daily and weekly papers. One in three small-town papers actually gained circulation last year,” it said.
The Internet has impacted negatively local papers’ advertising revenues and many have branched to the web to provide access to their content. More readers rely on the Internet to get their news and as such, newspapers have seen significant growth in online visits. According to an analysis produced by Nielson Online for the Newspaper Association of America, the second quarter of 2008 showed a 12.2% increase in the number of unique visitors to newspaper web sites compared to last year.
Ultimately, limited budgets and know-how at community papers have been unable to provide an online presence and distribution method that can compete in a 21st century market. Look at any community newspaper website and you’ll see a common theme: drab design, confusing navigation, a dearth of photographs, and a complete lack of multimedia coverage.
By aggregating content from a coalition of community newspapers looking to benefit from a wider audience, NewsAssist will attract advertisers seeking local and regional audiences. A revenue-sharing model would split profits between this editorial product and the community newspaper, enticing them to contribute. Multimedia-intensive and long-form content produced by NewsAssist’s editorial team would supplement their small-scale efforts and entice more readers, and thus, afford more revenue to be shared.
Relying on Web 2.0 standards to create a compelling online product, the NewsAssist website will be powered by user customization that provides local and niche content through many digital delivery methods. A user would enter their zip code and content interests, and the site would be customized to their choosing. Social bookmarking, from sites like Digg and Del.ico.us would be implemented. Community forums, where discussion could be achieved, will also be added.
Delivery is what sets NewsAssist apart. By concentrating on distributing content to all members of neighborhoods— including poor, inner-city neighborhoods—NewsAssist can attract a larger audience and help the community. Yet, current news distribution models must be improved and expanded if we hope to reach these neighborhoods.
According to a report by New York City’s Broadband Advisory Committee last year, the digital divide still leaves 45 percent of citizens in American cities without broadband Internet access. However, cell phone subscriber statistics are mind-boggling—82 percent of Americans use a cell phone.
By distributing news by cell phone and encouraging readers to visit the more intensive content available online, readers will be better informed and more enticed to contribute to the online conversation when they use a computer. Additionally, by exercising a light non-profit element, donated computers would be sought and converted to low-cost Linux based operating systems. The project will help provide the delivery medium to community centers and individuals’ homes. With this initiative, we can ensure the digital divide is further closed.
Today, as community papers struggle to gain audience online, it is important that they provide an interactive experience that entices readers. NewsAssist will aid their efforts and be profitable for both this business and the community newspaper’s business. But most importantly, ignored neighborhoods can once again receive the news coverage they deserve.
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