

Clay Shirky: Not an Upgrade — an Upheaval - blasdel
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/07/13/clay-shirky/not-an-upgrade-an-upheaval/

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shib71
He makes a good point about sport fans and coupon clippers having subsidized
"real" news. HN is a prime example of why that can't work online.

Is there any reason that can't capitalise on that reversal by creating niche
news sites that excel at reporting on those kinds of topics ("city council or
the coup in Madagascar" were the examples he gave)? The self-selecting that is
killing them now could theoretically keep then help them simplify their
content and advertising targeting.

Maybe someone is doing that already and it isn't working?

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mbrubeck
In my area there are several highly-local blogs (e.g. West Seattle Blog, White
Center Now) that cover the city council and other local events/news/politics.
I mean, they actually send people to council meetings to report on them.

