Hyperlocal coverage,
once hailed as another potential savior of the news business, was dealt a blow this week when
The Washington Post decided to shut down
LoudounExtra.com. The blog covered news in
Loudoun Country, VA.
A number of major news organizations
are experimenting with hyperlocal coverage. In March,
The New York Times started
The Local, which covers
New York and
New Jersey communities. MSNBC
acquired EveryBlock, a hyperlocal startup this week, and AOL
bought two hyperlocal sites,
Patch and
Going, in June.
Kris Coratti, director of communications at The Washington Post Co.,
told the
Times that the
Post ”found that our experiment with LoudounExtra.com as a separate site was not a sustainable model.” The newspaper will not start other planned hyperlocal sites, according to the report.