Hugo also mentioned that he was a software engineer.
So I asked him: Is your goal to generate content that facilitates civic discourse, or to build an application that does the same? If I had his software skills, I’d pump out location-based mobile apps and develop ways to break Apple’s and Amazon’s chokehold on content delivery to e-readers. Content creation is all for nothing without content distribution.
Outside of this conversation, Hugo’s background reminded me that many hyperlocal journalists don’t have journalism on their resumes. They have backgrounds in event planning, microbiology (ahem!), information technology, whatever. They just don’t have journalism degrees.
That doesn’t mean they’re not journalists. They cover local beats, interview witnesses, write and edit content, fact check and verify — stuff that J-school grads do. Hyperlocalists just do it on a community level, stuff that larger media outlets don’t do.
But in pursuing their interest in journalism, I hope they don’t ignore their prior work experiences. Instead, they should use those experiences and skills to create new revenue streams for their media outlets. Seriously, if Hugo solves the mystery of e-reader content distribution and then monetizes it (by offering content on a subscription basis, or by selling the technology to other content producers), he’ll have one more revenue stream for his journalism project.
I don’t mean to add more work to the busy life of hyperlocalists. If the revenue stream doesn’t benefit the hyperlocal news project either financially or in terms of publicity, then don’t bother. And remember that there are other ways to contribute to a hyperlocal news outlet — as an apps developer, event planner, even as a microbiologist — without creating content.
No job left behind
Last Friday, I had a long conversation via Twitter (it’s possible) with Dan Hugo, a hyperlocalist in the Bay Area who recently ended his Radio Sunnyvale news podcast because of poor funding. Despite that, he was still interested in creating a forum that would “make participation ‘worthwhile’ [for] contributors and consumers while creating sane, relevant, information-rich content.”
Hugo also mentioned that he was a software engineer.
So I asked him: Is your goal to generate content that facilitates civic discourse, or to build an application that does the same? If I had his software skills, I’d pump out location-based mobile apps and develop ways to break Apple’s and Amazon’s chokehold on content delivery to e-readers. Content creation is all for nothing without content distribution.
That doesn’t mean they’re not journalists. They cover local beats, interview witnesses, write and edit content, fact check and verify — stuff that J-school grads do. Hyperlocalists just do it on a community level, stuff that larger media outlets don’t do.
But in pursuing their interest in journalism, I hope they don’t ignore their prior work experiences. Instead, they should use those experiences and skills to create new revenue streams for their media outlets. Seriously, if Hugo solves the mystery of e-reader content distribution and then monetizes it (by offering content on a subscription basis, or by selling the technology to other content producers), he’ll have one more revenue stream for his journalism project.
I don’t mean to add more work to the busy life of hyperlocalists. If the revenue stream doesn’t benefit the hyperlocal news project either financially or in terms of publicity, then don’t bother. And remember that there are other ways to contribute to a hyperlocal news outlet — as an apps developer, event planner, even as a microbiologist — without creating content.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user silverlinedwinnebago.