Although the word ‘hyperlocal’ appears regularly in discussions about the future of the news media, there is no agreed-upon definition for the term. Recognizing that shortcoming, we demonstrate the need for a more precise definition. We then propose a definition and criteria for evaluating media operations described as hyperlocal. Finally, we apply our working definition to six operations widely regarded as exemplars of the hyperlocal prototype, comparing each to established standards of journalism and to one another. We conclude that hyperlocal media operations are evolving on a continuum. As they evolve, these organizations will showcase both a range of journalism acting in the public good and engagement facilitated through interactive media. We expect the definition of hyperlocal to evolve, too, as more voices enter the discussion and closer attention is given to the characteristics of websites deemed worthy of the appellation.

This report examines the state of hyperlocal publishing in the UK and lays out core challenges facing the sector. It was commissioned by the Centre for Community Journalism at Cardiff University and the innovation agency Nesta. The report evidences the contribution of hyperlocal platforms to civic life and media plurality against a backdrop of closures, mergers, cutbacks and declining regional newspaper sales. It also showcases innovative business models and examples of community journalism influencing and informing grassroots decision-making. Citable URL: http://www.communityjournalism.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/C4CJ-Report-for-Screen.pdf

Given that ‘hyperlocal’ publishing on the Internet is now attracting the attention of policymakers (Ofcom 2012), investors (Radcliffe 2012) and researchers (such as Metzgar et al. 2011) it seems timely to assess the scale of activity of this emerging sector in the UK. This paper reports on research completed as part of the ‘Media, Community and the Creative Citizen’ project on behalf of the UK communications regulator Ofcom and outlines the number of active hyperlocal websites and the volume and frequency of stories they produce. Such websites are, by and large, independent of mainstream media organisations and their intended audience is from a specific, often small, geographic area. The paper reflects on issues in developing a clear definition of what constitutes a hyperlocal website and in conclusion finds that whilst the challenge they pose to the local press might be overstated, their collective output and continued growth is of a scale that warrants continued interest from regulators concerned about the plurality of news sources that citizens are exposed to in their localities. The research goes some way towards identifying a clear baseline against which the further growth of the dynamic nature of this emerging sector can be measured.

The growth of hyperlocal media has rekindled the ecosystem of local media in recent years. An international phenomenon, it has already been the subject of much study in the academy, despite it being a recent occurrence. This article deals with the literature review of scientific articles published during the first decade of hyperlocal media research. The results show the keen interest that researchers had early on in this new media model, especially in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia where it was studied more intensely. The works published from 2010 to 2020 exhibit an interest in the study of the transformation of the media ecosystem, the mapping and analysis of the characteristics of the media, their organizational and business models, as well as their informative production and the relationship with the audience.

"Hyperlocal media has expanded significantly in the UK in the past 12 to 18 months, notes Damian Radcliffe. Supported by new funding and training initiatives, interest from academics and policy-makers, as well as the increased take-up of internet-enabled mobile devices, the result has been a step-change in activity and interest in the hyperlocal scene." Contribution to “What do we mean by local? The rise, fall and possible rise again of local journalism” – published Sept 2013 by Abramis Academic Publishing and edited by John Mair, Richard Lance Keeble, Neil Fowler: http://www.abramis.co.uk/books/bookdetails.php?id=184549593

In the Nordic countries, local and regional newspapers have functioned as keystone media. This article examines the emergence of hyperlocal initiatives as part of evolving local media ecosystems in Finland, analysing the extent and characteristics of hyperlocal media, and how they relate to wider changes in the Finnish media ecosystem. The data gathered on hyperlocal initiatives include a semi-structured survey by phone and online. The research conducted shows that the field is diverse. Rather than considering hyperlocal media in the context of typical publication forms, these newcomers can be best described according to a set of dimensions. Furthermore, the results indicate rather a strong desire to engage people in community building. The emergence of hyperlocal publications means adding a new layer to the Finnish media ecosystem. This development also provides the grounds for further study of the possible emergence of a new media era in Finland.

Hyperlocal media - neighbourhood blogs, websites and social feeds – aim to mediate and reinforce urban places, which are often seen as under threat. Where modernity has been described by Giddens and Castells as the transferring of political confrontation from the localized “space of places” (to use Castells’ terminology) to the global and immaterial “space of flows”, hyperlocal media supposedly carves out of that flow a mediated place for local political debate. Where neighbours or others sharing an urban space were no longer seen, by Wellman and others, to constitute a community, hyperlocal media is a community of place-based friends and followers. This paper draws on interdisciplinary fieldwork carried out over a year in and around Brockley, south-east London, where the long-established hyperlocal platform is often held up as a beacon of good practice in the fast-growing arena of local media and citizen journalism in the UK. It presents working conclusions based on qualitative and qualitative evidence, aiming to offer a rich understanding of hyperlocal media’s relationship to the lived urban space from which it derives. In depth interviews with community organisers, business owners and residents reveal key physical meeting spaces and spatially-embedded communicators on which Brockley’s online mediated presence is contingent. It is suggested that hyperlocal media works not in isolation but in parallel with face-to-face networks, meeting spaces and printed media as part of a communication ecology, used socially in an everyday context but essential in mobilising local social capital in the face of community challenges. As well as offering a practical understanding of hyperlocal media this paper refers to theoretical questions: about what community means in the context of online social mediation; the nature of the relationship between the city and its mediated forms; and the historical co-development of communication media and urban form.

The decline of the mainstream local news is well charted and understood. But in recent years a new generation of community-oriented, predominantly digital, news outlets, often called hyperlocal news (Bruns 2011, Metzgar et al 2011), have begun to attract attention from academics (Jones and Salter 2012, Thurman et al 2011) policy makers (Department for Culture Media and Sport 2009), regulators (OFCOM 2012), and investors (Nesta 2012, Radcliffe 2012). Such news is written by a variety of social actors (community activists, alternative journalists, former or aspiring professional news journalists), for many overlapping reasons (civic, public service, commercial, campaigning, etc). It has been seen as an oppositional media form that can be critical of local institutions including local government and mainstream news (Harte 2013), and one whose informal, participatory, bottom-up nature may de-centre or undermine more established professional players (Cushion 2012, Hartley 2009). Others have aimed to understand whether and in what ways, hyperlocal news might contribute to the democratic roles previously played by (or at least attributed to) declining local commercial news (Williams et al 2013). This chapter will provide an overview of recent research into this emergent cultural form to outline its nature and sustainability, as well as the roles it plays in relation to citizenship, democracy, participation and local community life.

In recent years, a new wave of hyperlocal community news websites has developed in the United Kingdom (UK), with many taking advantage of new opportunities provided by free open-source publishing platforms. Given the trend in the UK newspaper industry towards closure and retrenchment of their local and regional press titles, it is perhaps understandable that policy-makers have shifted their gaze to these sites. This article examines the viability of hyperlocal news services with a particular focus on those that are independently owned and managed. Such operations often have a longevity that sits in contrast to a number of failed attempts by major media organisations to operate in the hyperlocal space. Yet many of the business models that underpin these sites seem precarious, often benefiting from a degree of self-exploitation. Drawing on 35 interviews with hyperlocal news publishers from across the UK, this article argues that publishers draw upon a civic discourse in order to make sense of their practice. This framing may limit the potential to develop economic sustainability and risks alienating policy-makers keen to work with an idealised “fictive” hyperlocal entrepreneur.