The Charlotte Observer has announced its online community partners in a yearlong hyperlocal news experiment to expand the availability of neighborhood news in the Charlotte region.
The project is funded by a $45,000 grant from J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism, which promotes the use of digital technologies for delivering news and information.
The Observer and five partners will share content and explore ways to cover stories together.
The partners:
The Scoop Network – monroescoop.com, ballantynescoop.com, indiantrailscoop.com and westernunioncountyscoop.com – run by longtime Union County resident Steve Sherron and marketing expert Caroline Adams of Ballantyne.
DavidsonNews.net – founded by former Observer journalist David Boraks to report stories important to Davidson and nearby communities.
Qcitymetro.com – founded by former Observer Deputy Managing Editor Glenn Burkins to provide news and information specific to Charlotte’s African-American community.
TegaCayTalk.com – started by Tega Cay, S.C., resident and graphic designer Ben Ullman to keep his neighbors abreast of civic developments.
The Villa Heights Voice – newsletter of the Villa Heights Community Organization in east Charlotte. The Observer will help the group’s staff take its newsletter to the Web and expand its reach.
The goal is to help ensure that readers receive news at a hyper-local level. That could be anything from the latest on a staff shakeup at your elementary school to breaking news about why police cars are flashing lights down the street.
“Readers treasure local news because it’s the news that touches them personally,”
- Rick Thames, Observer Executive Editor
“And the more local, the better. We think partnerships like these could be key to providing readers more of that very valuable news. If so, that will be good for our communities and good for the future of journalism.”
The Observer’s Web site, charlotteobserver.com, will include links to the partner sites.
The grant through J-Lab, which is based at American University in Washington, was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Other newspapers participating in the grant include the Seattle Times, Miami Herald and Asheville Citizen-Times.
