Comments on: Why did The New York Times fail in New Jersey? http://www.thehyperlocalist.com/2010/07/01/why-did-the-new-york-times-fail-in-new-jersey/ Debunking the news business one neighborhood at a time. Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:54:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jennifer Deseo http://www.thehyperlocalist.com/2010/07/01/why-did-the-new-york-times-fail-in-new-jersey/comment-page-1/#comment-296 Jennifer Deseo Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:07:16 +0000 http://www.thehyperlocalist.com/?p=524#comment-296 Thanks for your comment, Mark. I'll give The Times credit for giving this model a try. Certainly, it had big obstacles to tackle -- the departure of Jersey Local's managing editor, and the publication's inability to make "the right partnership," as one of its editors told Business Insider. I should say that this model's failure may just be a matter of the area's microeconomic environment. The New York Locals benefit from a massive pool of university students. (The CUNY system alone has 200,000 students, including those attending its J-school and writing programs at Baruch and Brooklyn colleges.) On the flip side, the Jersey Local's beat had only Seton Hall University. Montclair State and Rutgers-Newark universities aren't too far away, but it may not have been a practical commute for unpaid student interns. Back to the drawing board. Thanks for your comment, Mark.

I’ll give The Times credit for giving this model a try. Certainly, it had big obstacles to tackle — the departure of Jersey Local’s managing editor, and the publication’s inability to make “the right partnership,” as one of its editors told Business Insider.

I should say that this model’s failure may just be a matter of the area’s microeconomic environment. The New York Locals benefit from a massive pool of university students. (The CUNY system alone has 200,000 students, including those attending its J-school and writing programs at Baruch and Brooklyn colleges.) On the flip side, the Jersey Local’s beat had only Seton Hall University. Montclair State and Rutgers-Newark universities aren’t too far away, but it may not have been a practical commute for unpaid student interns.

Back to the drawing board.

]]> By: Mark Josephson http://www.thehyperlocalist.com/2010/07/01/why-did-the-new-york-times-fail-in-new-jersey/comment-page-1/#comment-295 Mark Josephson Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:32:10 +0000 http://www.thehyperlocalist.com/?p=524#comment-295 To be fair to the NYT, they called it an experiment from the start. I give them credit for being open and honest about how hard it is to make a hyperlocal site work and even more credit for handing off the traffic to Baristanet. Not a lot of companies out there being as transparent about their intentions and sharing what works and what doesn't. I think that's good for the hyperlocal community (and yes, ultimately Outside.in's biz). To be fair to the NYT, they called it an experiment from the start. I give them credit for being open and honest about how hard it is to make a hyperlocal site work and even more credit for handing off the traffic to Baristanet. Not a lot of companies out there being as transparent about their intentions and sharing what works and what doesn’t. I think that’s good for the hyperlocal community (and yes, ultimately Outside.in’s biz).

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