Welcome to my project

What do invasive plants, children’s artwork, professional wrestling and the local grocer all have in common? They are all topics of interest in the communities of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, NY. And why does any of this matter? Because these are the types of topics being covered by local citizen reporters on the New York Time’s latest news experiment: a budding community blog. The Local, which was launched by the NYT in March of 2009, offers hyperlocal news coverage of these communities, as well as the communities of Maplewood, Millburn and South Orange.

The interesting part? This community blog incorporates citizen reporting with professional coverage in an attempt to construct a sustainable model of community journalism. But here’s where it gets tricky. According to Jim Schachter, editor for digital initiatives at the NYT, the current model of The Local is anything but sustainable. Currently staffed with full-time reporters, The Local will have to transition to a cheaper model of production in order to stay afloat. But as the site becomes increasingly generated by citizen content, will the The Local be able to maintain the standard of work required to bear the New York Times name? How will its producers attempt such a transition? I will be asking these and other research questions as I follow the development of the blog in its early stages.