[Digital-Mentor] CN Group boosts hyperlocal websites

[Steve Bridger]

Hmm... haven't looked at this in detail, Dave, but I have reservations.

A proprietary CMS? Could be another VOICE debacle.
http://is.gd/4f5K

"...the way WE have approached it is with a collection of stand-alone
community sites"
(my emphasis).

Hmm.

Steve


2008/10/16 Dave Briggs <db at davepress.net>:
> Interesting piece on the Guardian website
> [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/16/digitalmedia]:
>
> Independent regional publisher Cumbrian Newspapers Group is rolling
> out a series of interactive websites to allow community group to
> create their own pages alongside newspaper content.
>
> The Carlisle-based publisher will this week launch two new sites,
> Grange Local and Windermere Local, to add to the 12 hyperlocal
> websites it has rolled out over the last month for towns across
> Cumbria.
>
> CN Group is using a new content management system developed by
> Polopoly to automatically update the local sites, which include
> Aspatria, Cockermouth, Keswick, Silloth and Brampton, with newspaper
> stories.
>
> The CN Group hyperlocal sites also provide community groups with
> logins so they can update them with their own news.
>
> "In common with other newspaper publishers we are looking at our
> offerings to local communities and the way we have approached it is
> with a collection of stand-alone community sites," said Nick Turner,
> the CN Group head of digital content development.
>
> "We see this as a way of upgrading the traditional district
> correspondent idea, to move it online and broaden it to other areas of
> the community."
>
> CN Group counts the Whitehaven News, Carlisle News & Star and the
> Cumberland News among the daily and weekly newspapers it publishes
> throughout Cumbria, Northumberland and south-west Scotland. The
> company also operates seven local radio stations across the UK.
>
> The publisher has already given areas of local sites over to a series
> of community groups.
>
> CN Group is also in talks with the local police service over providing
> a space for local community police officers to maintain pages on local
> affairs.
>
> The recent launches comes after the roll-out of a prototype site
> launched for the Maryport area in July this year and follows similar
> developments by larger regional newspaper publishing groups.
>
> Trinity Mirror spun out a series of 24 hyperlocal sites from the
> website of its Teesside Gazette last year.
>
> The company has continued to develop the offering for other papers
> across the country and also developed a mobile web offering for a
> number of its larger regional titles.
>
> --
> Dave Briggs, Digital Enabler
> d at vebrig.gs |  http://davepress.net |  07525 209589 (Mobile)
>
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-- 
Steve Bridger
Buzz Director, Community Builder &
Flickr for Good Evangelist

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