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    E-book review: Newsgathering for Hyperlocal Websites by Adam Westbrook : JournalLocal

    E-book review: Newsgathering for Hyperlocal Websites by Adam Westbrook

    by Philip John on January 11, 2010 | 2 Comments

    Newsgathering for Hyperlocal Websites is a new educational e-book from multimedia journalist, blogger and lecturer Adam Westbrook. With several years of experience in journalism, Adam saw the rise of hyperlocal and decided it needed a guide to gathering news online, both for the traditional journalist who may not be web-savvy and the non-journalist who needs a helping hand with some basic journalistic skills. I had the privilege of a sneak preview of the e-book, and here’s my review…

    You would expect most people who will read the e-book to have a rough knowledge of what hyperlocal is (not that it’s terribly easy to define), but Adam does a great job of providing a concise background of hyperlocal to start off. He sets the scene well by emphasising why local media is important and how hyperlocal can play an important role within that.

    Interestingly, he also gives us a sort of disclaimer,

    “All the information … is accurate at publication in January 2010″

    It stood out to me because it goes some way to showing that the local media landscape is always changing. You could say that change and the ability or willingness to adapt is one of the reasons behind the state of local media at the moment so awareness of that fact is key if you’re to become a player. That’s a conversation for another day, though.

    The e-book caters really well for both journalists and non-journalists. For those already in media but perhaps not too au fait with the web, it takes you through using the web to search out the information you already gather offline but maybe more efficiently or with greater ease. Non-journalists benefit from that too but also learn exactly what information they need to gather, something that is a basic lesson taught in J-school but isn’t always obvious to your average Joe.

    A nice touch is the personal and realistic tone that Adam uses. He’s honest about the amount of useless e-mails you’ll get having done all the leg work to set up your ‘hyperlocal news desk’ and actually makes you question whether you’ll be able to cope with the workload of your exciting new hyperlocal – an important consideration.

    I was disappointed that more wasn’t provided on multimedia. Touching on some basic equipment, such as recording equipment as well as services like YouTube, Vimeo and Audioboo would really help to add that extra dimension.

    Another important aspect missing from the e-book were real-life examples and case studies. In particular, reading about contacting local press officers didn’t touch on the difficulties that hyperlocals sometimes face when attempting to interact with local authorities. Immediately springing to mind is Pits ‘n’ Pots who really struggled with Stoke-on-Trent City Council, and a short case study from them would really help hyperlocal start-ups to prepare themselves.

    Possibly my favourite part of the e-book is it’s focus on providing value. Rather than continuously talking about hyperlocal as the future of news or the way that local media will become financially sustainable, which would have been an easy distraction, Adam keeps reminding you that what’s important is providing value to the reader. He openly discourages from taking on the existing media unless you can do a better job or provide a new slant which will provide something extra to the community you serve.

    Finally, the e-book rounds off with a bunch of templates, from a contacts sheet to a sample freedom of information request. In doing so the e-book not only gives you the news gathering theory but some basic tools so you can get started right away.

    Newsgathering for Hyperlocal Websites is definitely a good start in helping hyperlocal owners to organise themselves and make sure they have all the information they need to serve their community. I’m hoping this is a first edition because future editions are bound to be spectacular.

    Released today, it’s well worth it’s introductory price tag so get it quick from Adam’s web site!

    via journallocal.co.uk

    Tags » E-book hyperlocal
    • 19 January 2010
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