Local News Blogs Newspapers Hyperlocal Back Thing Made

We've all heard or read about the "decline" (becoming less popular) of newspapers "in print" (printed on paper). "Circulation" - the number of newspapers sold - is down, and advertising is down. Newspaper owners are "cutting" (eliminating) workers and printing "skimpier" (less thick; shorter) newspapers.

As newspapers "cut back on" (reduce) its "coverage" (reporting) of the news, one thing is "picking up the slack" (doing what is needed now that it is not done by someone/something else): the local neighborhood news blog.

The first thing that disappears from a newspaper as it cuts back is coverage of local news. Covering local news requires reporters to personally "investigate" (gather information) and write the articles. To pick up the slack left by skimpier newspapers, "hyperlocal" blogs are appearing across the country.

We often use the prefix "hyper" to mean very much or very intense. Hyperlocal, then, is news about this "immediate" (here or very close to here) area. The idea is that "residents" (people who live there) report on what goes on in their own community, such as issues related to local schools or to transportation. These reports may not be written by professionals, but they have the benefit of giving local residents what they want: focus on their own community.

Some of these hyperlocal blogs are even making money. Before 2010, the West Seattle Blog, for example, was supported by "donations" (giving money to an organization to support it, without expecting anything in return), but made "six figures" (between $100,000 to $999,999) last year, "presumably" (I believe, though I'm not certain) from "ad revenue" (money made from advertising).