This article summarizes the mission and business model of NYU Local, a hyperlocal news organization that publishes content on various websites. It provides a platform for professional and citizen journalism focused on the minutiae of the local NYU community. It uses Creative Commons licensing and embraces a link economy, though has faced copyright issues. While gift economies and collaboration are motivating factors, the model may not be sustainable long-term due to issues like lack of credibility and some low-quality citizen contributions. The future lies in a mix of aggregation and structured citizen/professional reporting within a community.

1. Journalistic Swag Gift and Link Economy in Hyperlocal News Organizations

2. NYU Local History Article published on digital side of a print publication Syndicated on various websites Linked widely NYU news source that knows how to use the internet

3. Mission Provide a platform for “professional” and community hyperlocal journalism Talk to the people who read and produce the content as you’d talk to them IRL, not from a throne Do what we do best, link to the rest (thanks, Jeff Jarvis) Cover the “minutia” relevant to the community but not lucrative enough to be covered by others Use a Creative Commons license for all original content

4. Copyright Issues & Link Economy The AP was mad that we reposted the above pic. We claimed fair use. WSN has a habit of posting similar stories days later without linking.

5. Why Gift Content? Sense of accomplishment Boredom Love of collaboration and/or Being Right

6. Will It Last Forever? Umm, no. Well, probably not, anyway...

7. Here’s Why Not Lack of credibility Adding money doesn’t necessarily help Jaron Lanier isn’t totally wrong; some of this stuff sucks

8. What’s Next We’ve left the era of branded news and are living in the era of branded aggregation Neither models is totally sustainable A mix of aggregation and citizen/professional reporting will be king Community contributions will become more structured, less willy nilly