The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri has published a two-part series on AOL’s foray into hyper-local journalism for which I was interviewed. Part I references the plagiarism issue from last September. Part II includes a series of observation on Patch and the state of hyper-local journalism in the United States where I am quoted several times.
The Patch Effect
A companion post to the The Patch Effect, Part 1, this installment reports directly on the experiences of hyperlocal news website operators. Ten editors from the states of California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, and New York were interviewed at the close of 2010. The goal was to collect a representative sample of local sites from across the country, and also to focus on towns in which Patch was operating. Tram Whitehurst, Missouri School of Journalism master’s program graduate, working with RJI Fellow Lisa Skube, sums up what we learned.
Here is one of several quotes from me in Part II
“The mission of the site is to give New Rochelle its own media platform…We’re the community water cooler…Before we started, the news coverage was minimal – we have a low-watt radio station, a regional newspaper that does a few local stories, and some TV news. I think New Rochelle deserves more…For somebody whose personal goal is to see more community news, I welcomed [Patch].” – Robert Cox, Talk of the Sound
The Reynolds Journalism Institute is a prestigious organization.
The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) exists to develop and test ways to improve journalism through new technology and improved processes. In partnership with media organizations and nonprofits, RJI delivers technological and strategic innovations in journalism and advertising.
RJI was launched in 2004 with an initial grant of $31 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. In conjunction with the centennial celebration of the Missouri School of Journalism, it officially dedicated its world headquarters in September 2008. This 50,000 square-foot facility on the University of Missouri campus has state-of-the-art resources to test and demonstrate new technologies, experiment with convergence news production and delivery systems, and conduct real-time and virtual seminars and conferences.