The Neighborhood Hyperlocal: New kid on the block or a chip off the old one?

Closure of local newspapers and other community weeklies across the United States has severely affected local news coverage, leading concerned citizens and journalists to start hyperlocal news sites in their neighborhoods. Similar to community weeklies, these sites focus on a small, geographically defined area and are usually created to fill a certain gap in news coverage. Few studies, however, reveal much about these sites especially in the United States, including information about those who work for them and whether they are a harbinger of new forms journalism or simply reflections of traditional media. This study examined the social characteristics of those who work in these sites, their perceptions of journalistic behaviors they follow when working with user-generated content and their attitudes towards user-generated content within the theoretical framework of hierarchy of influences and gatekeeping. Findings reveal that journalistic routines and behaviors of the respondents working in hyperlocal media are similar to those practiced by journalists in mainstream media. Implications and future studies are addressed.