The New York Times announced today that it’s bringing its hyperlocal experiment in New Jersey to an end. But instead of abandoning “The Local” site covering Maplewood, Millburn and South Orange, the NYT will redirect the traffic to the New Jersey hyperlocal site Baristanet, which will be expanding its coverage area to encompass the three areas.
“We’re thrilled that the Times has passed their hyperlocal baton to us and we will run with it,” writes Baristanet’s Liz George in a blog post today. “We are bringing these new towns into an expanded ‘Baristaville’ by staying local. Journalist and Maplewood resident Jolie Solomon joins the Baristanet team along with community contributors from Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn.”
“From the beginning, we described this as a pilot, a test, an experiment, because we knew that our path in community journalism couldn’t be paved with sites staffed by full-time New York Times journalists,” explains an announcement on The Local. “This is an opportunity for The Local’s contributors to continue their blogging and reach a larger local audience, and for Local readers to continue to receive high-quality coverage, with a bold personality and lively writing.” The switch happens tomorrow, July 1st.
Meanwhile, the NYT’s hyperlocal site in Brooklyn — covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill — will continue onward with its partnership with the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
If you ask me, this sounds like great arrangement that helps transition “The Local” community while growing one of the best independent hyperlocal sites in the country.
