Hyperlocal Journalism

Since the early 2000s, the practice of hyperlocal journalism has emerged from the informal, community, experimental, amateur edges of journalism practice to become significant in discussions of the future of the local and regional press. In countries with a market failure in the provision of local news, hyperlocal journalism has been viewed as a possible way to fill the gap and carry out the important roles of holding local power to account and bringing communities together.

With such hope invested in hyperlocal journalism, one might expect it to be easy to identify precisely what it is and what makes it such a powerful contender to solve critical issues of the future of local news. However, the reality is that a very wide set of practices and ...