Daily Democracy

Ryan Blethen discusses the press, media and democracy. Daily Democracy is part of the Democracy Papers, a series of articles, essays and editorial opinion examining threats to our freedoms of speech and the press.

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January 25, 2008 11:31 AM

Is EveryBlock the future for local newspapers?

Posted by Ryan Blethen

A nifty new Web site launched recently. EveryBlock allows people to find the news of their block.

The site is a very local way filtering news. As a journalists I plan on keeping a close eye on EveryBlock. Seems like the type of feature that newspapers could utilize. There is a hunger for news not just of a town, but for news of the very close. The neighborhood, and block.

I wrote last week about the West Seattle Blog. This is another layer to the developing way in which people are seeking the news of what they can see out their window.

EveryBlock launched in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, and will expand to other cities. It was developed by Adrian Holovaty. Holovaty has a track record of pushing newspapers such as the Lawrence Journal World and the Washington Post into new an exciting areas. His ChicagoCrime.org is worth trolling around. Holovaty's sites give a glimpse into what is possible for newspapers, especially newspapers that make a living off of local news.

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