Opinion
Editor's Notebook: Launch of The Local
The New York Times goes hyper-local in South Orange, Maplewood and Millburn.
In addition to the nasty weather, today was memorable for the launch of the The Local, the New York Times' hyper-local experiment in South Orange, Maplewood and Millburn. It's helmed by veteran Times reporter Tina Kelley, who's a Maplewood resident, and has a sister site covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. According to some accounts—and the blogosphere has been abuzz with them since last week—it will focus heavily on citizen journalism, but the site also has three interns to help report news.
I'm sure some residents of these communities are scratching their heads and wondering how South Orange, Maplewood and Millburn have come to be the focus of so much attention, and I've gotten e-mails from people asking me as much. But, the way I see it, this can only be a good thing for the three towns. As for me, I'm pretty psyched and think that these sites can complement each other in interesting ways. (Yes, I really think that!) This is going to be a lot of fun, so I urge you all to stay tuned.
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I remember working with Tina when I was at the Inquirer ... She probably does not remember me. Anyways, welcome to the SO.
Hi again, Cotton, and thanks for the welcome! Looks like there's more than enough news to go around! And hi John, I've been seeing your face online, wondering if that was you! Small towns!
This is great! Both Patch and The Local offer a lot of richness to our lives. I'm thrilled to see them here and getting along so well.
Maybe The Local, Patch and MOL could do a rock, paper-scissors to determine the true champion. Winner buys the losers Town Hall Sloppy Joes. What say ye? I bet SOMA.com TV would televise.
Trade the sloppy joes for margaritas at Toro Loco, and I'm there.