Ben LaMothe's media blog

Hyperlocal as a concept has always intrigued me. Where I’m from, there isn’t much hyperlocal news presence. Lots of newspapers, but not much that is uniquely online-only. But since I will soon be re-locating to Jacksonville, FL, I decided to have a look at what kind of hyperlocal blogging happens. I was pleased to come across a few lively sites.

But one stood out from the pack: UrbanJacksonville. I wanted to know more about it, so I reached out to its founder, Joey Marchy, about being interviewed for my blog about the blog, why he started it, and his views on hyperlocal.

BL: Why did you start Urban Jacksonville?

JM: To fill a void in how local media covered neighborhood news and events. The goal was to show people inside Jacksonville, that yes, there are cool, interesting things to do in this city and here, let me show you what they are. There was also a huge development boom in the urban core. Buildings here today, might be demolished tomorrow. I felt compelled to document those things and all the other changes the city was experiencing. A blog was the perfect way to do that.

Do you see Urban Jacksonville as filling a hole in the local news ecosystem in Jacksonville?

Absolutely. I give a voice and face to hyperlocal news in the city. Blogging was definitely niche and novel when I started, I think that’s why Urban Jacksonville caught on. Five years later, I have a partnership with the Times-Union and I work closely with the reporters on various stories. I think Urban Jacksonville served as a bridge between bloggers and the local MSM.

Today, content from other Jacksonville blogs regularly integrates into the Times-Union website Jacksonville.com. To me this serves as proof that we helped fill a hole in local news coverage.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by Urban Jacksonville giving a “point of view you won’t find on the 6:00 news or the Sunday edition of the Times Union. It is raw, unrefined and real.”?

Yes absolutely. That statement stemmed from a post I wrote called the Urban Manifesto.

It was a reaction to my perception that local mainstream media was pulling punches on stories in favor of protecting access to politicians and leads on future stories. I was tired of the watered down, PR-flavored news articles that did nothing more than restructure press releases.

I will give credit to the Times-Union and Jacksonville.com for sticking their neck out lately to do some real reporting and writing. They have some smart, young reporters (@jaxdotcom, @duvaldave, @coachtia to name a few) and a new Assistant Managing Editor (@editormarilyn) who is kicking down doors that were traditionally opened quietly, if at all.

Here is a segment from the Urban Manifesto article:

We don’t have to play by YOUR rules. We are not the sanitized version of the news put out by the Times-Union or The Local Station. We don’t adhere to political pressure or old-school bureaucracies because we aren’t looking for a recommendation for our resume or a back scratch from a politician. We don’t have to watch our mouth for fear of offending someone, we say what the f*ck we want.

Do you see yourself as a “citizen journalist”? What is your view on that term?

In the most literal sense, yes. Wikipedia says “A journalist collects and disseminates information about current events, people, trends, and issues.” I don’t do very much original reporting and I rarely break news. I’m very big on the collecting and disseminating. I like to think of myself as a citizen aggregator. Citizen aggregators take all the content being produced and cull it down into what’s relevant for their audience.

I think of a citizen journalist as someone without journalism credentials (works at a newspaper, media company, radio station) who takes it upon themselves to inject their content into the news eco-system. It’s an important role. Newspapers and media companies no longer hold the keys to the kingdom. Their resources are far greater but their ability to break news or report on a story is the same as my next door neighbor.

How has Urban Jacksonville evolved since its launch, and what are you hoping to do with the blog in the future?

Urban Jacksonville has evolved into its own brand locally. It represents the urban lifestyle including: density, smart transportation, affordable housing, anti-sprawl, sustainability, walkable neighborhoods, music, arts and culture. Urban Jacksonville is a voice for the city and it’s residents who wants to see Jacksonville succeed and turn into a world class city. Finally, it’s a platform for promoting any initiatives that align with the brand and accomplish the goal of making Jacksonville kick ass.

In the next year I’m focusing on improving Urban Jacksonville Weekly, a podcast and live UStream show. The blog will be redesigned to look less like a blog. I’ll begin integrating all the content streams I produce across the web: Flickr, Vimeo, shared items in Google Reader, Facebook posts, foursquare check ins, tweets, bookmarks, etc. To me it’s all Urban Jacksonville content. Traditional blog posts are no longer the end all.

Twitter, Facebook, Posterous and, to an extent, Google Reader have offered me a quick and easy way to distribute any content I produce for the blog. These tools have also developed into their own unique form of micro-content. I use their individual strengths and produce targeted content for each. The audience dictates how they want their information. They want to slice and dice it. Share it. Like it. So I give it to them in a variety of formats and mediums. In 2010, I’m distributing the content through as many channels as possible.