Wow, this is a surprise. Less than a year and a half after buying Pegasus News, the hyperlocal news site in Dallas, Fisher Communications has sold it for $1.5 million to an unnamed buyer. At the time, Fisher said it would roll out similar sites in its TV markets, including Seattle and Portland, with eventual plans to take it nationwide. Terry Heaton had called it “the smartest move to date by any local media company.” A ton of factors could be behind the sale, so I won’t speculate. But I will argue with anyone who claims this is further evidence that hyperlocal doesn’t have a future. As Lost Remote readers know, I’m bullish on neighborhood-focused news communities, although the exact model has yet to be entirely proven. (Thanks Dan for the link!)

Update: The Kelsey Group reports that Fisher never made serious steps to expand Pegasus News. “The whole world for broadcast media changed a lot” since the company’s acquisition, said Pegasus founder Mike Orren, who says his team sees the sale as a good thing for the company.

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