Presentation given at the Centre for Research on Communities and Culture Review 2015 at Canterbury Christ Church University on 9th June. The slides define and explore different types of hyperlocal media and community journalism, showcase how UK hyperlocals are delivering local journalism and explore potentially untapped areas for research.

1. How can hyperlocal media create active
and digitally inclusive communities?
Damian Radcliffe
Centre for Research on Communities and Cultures Review 2015
June 9th 2015
Damian Radcliffe

2. Running Order
1. Overview: definitions and typology
2. 10 examples of community impacts
3. Challenges for researchers and policy makers
4. Q&A

3. Part One: Definitions and Typology

4. Definition
“Online news or content services pertaining to a
town, village, single postcode or other small,
geographically defined community.”
Radcliffe, Damian (March 29, 2012)
"Here and Now: UK hyperlocal media today".

5. Many different types of site

6. Different size patches
Town / City Visit Horsham: http://www.visithorsham.co.uk/
Blog Preston: http://blogpreston.co.uk/
Pegasus News: http://www.pegasusnews.com/ (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Village Parwich.org: http://parwich.org/
Bournville: http://bournvillevillage.com/
Postcode / Ward SE1: http://www.london-se1.co.uk/
HU17: http://www.hu17.net/
Greater Jackson Ward: http://www.gjwn.net/news/ (Richmond, VA)
Defined community
e.g. estate, area, or niche
geographic community of
interest
Weir Estate, Lambeth: http://www.wera.org.uk/
Clapham: http://www.loveclapham.com/
Leith: http://www.greenerleith.org/
Irish Philadelphia: http://irishphiladelphia.com/
Capitol Fax: http://capitolfax.com/ (News for Illinois political insiders)

7. Varying Production Models
Created via a range of different production models, including:
1. Professional – websites run as a full-time operation, often by journalists
e.g. OnTheWight and InDenver Times
2. Citizen run/produced – produced by citizens, often alongside a day job
e.g. PitsnPots and Duke City Fix (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
3. Hybrid – sites combining the input of trained journalists and citizen input
e.g. Lichfield Blog and Lakeland Local (Florida)
4. Aggregator/Automated – owners typically do not write any content.
e.g. Planet Balham or Windy Citizen (Chicago)

8. … and different funding models
• Online Advertising
• Printed What’s On Guide (SE1)
• Printed Newspaper (Brixton Bugle)
• Social Media Services (Oakland Local)
• Copywriting (Caerphilly Observer)
• eBooks (Londonist)
• Property supplement (HU17.net)
• Weekly newsletter (ChiswickW4.com)
• Groupon and local deals (Caerphilly Observer)

9. Examples of some who’ve done it.
Well worth a look.

10. Bottom Line
There is no one size
fits all solution.
And no such thing as a
typical hyperlocal site.
They’re all different.

11. Part Two: 10 examples of impact

12. 1. Holding authority to account
Local publishers have:
• Reported on by-elections
• Used open data to act as “armchair auditors” and
• Live reported from council and planning meetings
General Election Coverage:
Many of them are actively covered #GE2015
• Provided a tier of local reporting mainstream media cannot
• Cover – and report from – Parish Council meetings and elections
All areas increasingly overlooked by other media outlets.

13. 2. Campaigning
• Brixton Blog’s successful Save the Lambeth Country Show
• Hedon Blog’s ‘Hedon Pong’ campaign – saw Yorkshire Water
invest £3.5m in odour control + provide compensation in the
form of a £50,000 community grants fund
Data suggests a third of hyperlocal
publishers have run local campaigns

14. 3. Civic Engagement
• Report problems
• Engage directly with officials
• Rise of civic tech movement

15. 4. Giving communities a voice
Forums engage communities big and small.
Since 2002, 180,000 people have produced
nearly 7.6 million posts, on over half a million
topics, on Sheffield Forum.

16. Daily stories about life in Spitalfields, East London. http://spitalfieldslife.com/
Focus on human interest stories and ultra-local history.
Ambition to author 10,000 posts.
“At the rate of one a day, this will take approximately twenty-seven years and
four months. Who knows what kind of life we shall be living in 2037 when I write
my ten thousandth post?”
“Your blog has become a daily joy I look forward to savouring. It’s a bit like a grown-up (and
sometimes not-so grown-up) advent calendar. I open it with the same anticipation…”
“I love you gentle author. I read Spitalfields Life when my heart is worn. It makes me think of
you and how remarkable the beauty. 2037 indeed. Hope I’m here.”
5. Local Storytelling

17. 6. Providing useful information
• Bournville News took public information but presented it in a useful way,
producing a map of Birmingham City Council gritting routes in Bournville.
“I thought the potential grit shortage
might mean that some roads would stop
getting gritted should the cold spell
continue and knowing which roads were
meant to be gritted would be useful
knowledge.
‘Will my road get gritted?’ is an easy
question to answer since the City Council
has a alphabetical list of all the roads that
are gritted in order of priority.”
(Quotes from Dave Harte.)

18. 7. Reflecting cultural identity
• “Voices from the Motherland” strand on Digbeth is Good
• British Library is creating an archive of these sites, to act as
a digital record of life in these communities in the future

19. 8. Promoting civic pride

20. 9. Plugging gaps
Covering geographic areas – like the village of Parwich in
Derbyshire – or towns like Port Talbot deserted, or deemed too
small / uncommercially viable to cover, by mainstream media.

21. 10. Old-school local reporting
• Traditional news
• Sport
• Events
• Arts,
• Links to local services
• Property
• Food and drink features
• What’s on guides
All mainstays of traditional local media.

22. Part Three: Policy/Research challenges

23. 1. Core problems remain
1. Discoverability.
2. Funding / Commercial Viability.
3. Sustainability.

24. 2. Potential research gaps
• Civic impact
• Social Capital
• Non-market/content
• Conversations elsewhere

25. 3. Cross-cultural synergies

26. 4. Role promoting digital inclusion?

27. 5. Wider Gov.UK impact

28. Thanks for
listening
Questions?
www.damianradcliffe.com
www.slideshare.net/mrdamian
www.twitter.com/damianradcliffe
www.linkedin.com/in/damianradcliffe