The other day, I visited my former college newspaper editor, Brian Thompson (pictured). And we were talking about this very topic. He is a phenomenal editor, who always gives his writers a lot of freedom and respects their style. Brian's also a lot of fun!
In addition to working for Flagler, he has written for and managed the St. Augustine Record--the same newspaper I interned as a reporter for during college.
"Journalists like to think--and I used to kind of be guilty of this too--but they like to think that journalism is some sort of exclusive club, where the First Amendment only applies to them," Brian said. "It doesn't. We just happen to be mentioned specifically."
He continued saying, "The Press sometimes holds this elitist attitude--but really, the First Amendment is for everyone."
Brian's right.
So thank God for the hyperlocal site.
Hyperlocal Sites
A hyperlocal site is a Web site, usually connected with a newspaper, that provides a platform for community members to post news. These niche products thrive off of user-generated content and allow the reader to become the media. Hyperlocal sites are brilliant and provide a way for the First Amendment to truly be implemented.
No press passes.
No journalism degree.
No reporters notebooks or tape recorders.
It's news "of the people, by the people, for the people." It's where the general public can not just contribute to--but engage in--the information-dissemination process. It also connects media professionals to its readers in a personal and intimate way. As I said, hyperlocal sites are brilliant.
But unfortunately, newspapers are reluctant to embrace this rising product.
Why?
A lot of reasons: costs, maintenance, aversion to progress--but a good twinge of that is the elitist attitude that Brian was talking about. Media professionals don't like thinking that they are on the same level as Joe Schmo--but that's not hyperlocal sites' purpose.
Their intent is not to degrade educated and experienced reporters. They are simply supplying a means of all-inclusive participation in the First Amendment.
Believe me, Sally Snodgrass's post about her 8-year-old son's soccer game is not going to win any Pulitzers.
How It Applies to Recent College Grads
Hyperlocal sites are a blessing in the job search. You can break into the field without all the nonsense. But I would suggest not just posting and then being done with it. I recommend contacting the newspaper that the site is affiliated with and alerting them of your postings. This way, if the editor likes it, he or she will put your story in the forever-valued print edition.
Winning Awards Through This Method
I actually used a hyperlocal site (YourHub.com) and landed over a dozen cover stories in my first 16 posts in the Jupiter Courier print version. My articles received great community feedback, and I even won a Florida Press Club Excellence in Journalism award for Education News (my beat is Jupiter High School).
So if you can find a hyperlocal site to write for, give it a shot and see what happens. At the very least, you will get another item to slap on your resume.
