JESSELL AT LARGE
Irene Illustrates Meaning, Value Of Hyperlocal
The national and regional coverage of Hurricane Irene was fine before the storm actually passed through my suburban New Jersey town. But then, what I wanted — and needed — to know came from my local AOL Patch site. There were fresh updates, pictures and even a brief video tour of the damage. The lesson here for broadcasters dabbling in hyperlocal websites or mobile apps is that you can’t do it on the cheap. Just like any kind of journalism, hyperlocal journalism takes well-educated, well-trained, responsible reporters and editors.
