Web news search site Topix, owned by three top US newspaper publishers Monday began recruiting users to report local news that traditional outlets do not sufficiently cover.
Topix’s platform addresses the pent-up demand for local news in towns and cities across the country where traditional news media alone cannot cover enough of the hyper-local events and issues that matter most to neighbours. As part of the launch, Topix also moved its domain to www.topix.com to support its continued growth as a major Web destination.
Anyone can now submit local news for any US zip code to Topix through a form on the website or from their cellphone. Participants can also become citizen editors, improving the news content on the pages they edit. These editors connect to a national network of engaged, local audiences with simple tools that combine the best reader contributions —both news tips and forum discussions —with Topix’s locally categorised news from 50,000 traditional news and blog sources.
“Whether standing at a street corner with a campaign sign or chatting in the park, local residents want to discuss and share the news that matters to them,” said Rich Skrenta, co-founder and CEO, Topix. “Until now, moving that discussion to the Web has required starting a blog or creating local content from scratch. While that might work for the more advanced Internet user, it’s been a barrier for many. At Topix, we’re giving anyone access to the tools, content, and audience to talk about their local news.”
Topix is a Palo Alto, California-based company 75 per cent controlled by Gannett Co, McClatchy Co, and Tribune Co.
Over the past year, Topix has grown rapidly into a Top 25 news destination online and the largest local community news site with more than 10 million monthly unique visitors. Since introducing discussion forums for every US city and town in December 2005, Topix has attracted more than 1 million forum participants who have contributed more than 5.5 million posts. Every day, more than 30,000 comments are added to the conversation, making Topix a destination of choice for finding out what’s happening in diverse towns and cities.
Topix will continue to use its advanced algorithms to categorise news in 32,500 zip codes to give editors a springboard for finding and selecting news stories. More than one person can edit a page, but for towns and cities where the editors are not active, Topix automatically refreshes the page with the most relevant local news.
“Online communities are difficult to scale and sustain. But with this new platform, we think we have combined the best technology with the strongest local participation to create the best destination for local news and discussion,” Skrenta said. “By giving everyone access to the tools to talk — and an audience to listen — Topix redefines what it means to make the news.”
