Big Media Companies Buying Local News Startups... Newspapers Bitch About Competition

from the what's-going-on-here dept

As the discussions over newspaper business models have continued, I keep hearing from newspaper people that they "do local news better" and that local news will be what saves them. Yet, at the same time, we keep hearing about new local news startups that appear to do a much better job of it... and the best of those startups keep getting bought by big media companies. The latest is that MSNBC has purchased EveryBlock, a cool local news player that did a really nice job bringing together a variety of sources. While it may not have gotten as big as expected, and it's unclear whether MSNBC will end up killing it (the history of startups going to big media companies usually doesn't have a happy ending), it makes you wonder why no newspapers thought of buying it. The things that EveryBlock has done -- like linking local stories to feeds from Flickr, blog posts, and other online sources -- seems like exactly the sort of useful community building that a newspaper should be doing. Yet, I can't recall any actually doing that themselves... and now they let one of the startups enabling it get bought by someone else. In fact, I'd bet that EveryBlock is potentially one of these evil "aggregators" the newspapers keep complaining about as being "unfair." You can keep complaining, or you can do something. MSNBC appears to have done something, while the newspapers keep complaining.

Filed Under: big media, local news, newspapers
Companies: everyblock, msnbc

Another Attempt To Reinvent What A 'News' Provider Really Should Provide

from the about-time dept

We've been talking quite a bit lately about the news industry, all too often focusing on journalists (or former journalists) whining about the old days or making ridiculous or downright bizarre proposals for how to turn back time. Many of these are based on a faulty understanding of either economics or the very past they long to return to -- which never really existed in the first place.

Rather than pining for a mythical past, however, folks in the newspaper business should be looking at new opportunities and new models that are making themselves available every day. It starts by forgetting that they're "newspapers" and focusing instead on what real business they're in. That also means recognizing that the definition of "news" is different these days than it was in the past. When you had limited sources of information and only a few ways to get news, news was "big" stories that couldn't be covered elsewhere. But those big stories are everywhere these days, and newspapers don't add any additional value to those stories. Instead, "news" is a much more personalized experience, with different people valuing different types of "news" and information in very different ways. This is why teenagers have already shifted to sources that provide news that's actually relevant to them.

Based on all of this, it's good to see new companies springing up that are trying to take on this challenge. The buzz today is about the launch of Everyblock, a new "hyperlocal" news provider that recognizes "news" is different to different people -- and things like what building permits are being requested and what restaurants are being inspected may be news if they're on your block or places you go to regularly. It's no surprise that this company was started by Adrian Holovaty, whose ideas on how to reinvent the news business we discussed a few years ago. For years, he tried to put many of these ideas into practice within the framework of some traditional newspapers, so now it'll be interesting to see how well it goes from the point of view of a brand new startup.

Filed Under: adrian holovaty, data, news, newspapers
Companies: everyblock