7 posts and columns on Outside.in

News Byte

AOL Buys Local Aggregator Outside.In

in Media on March 4, 2011 at 7:11 am PT

AOL has purchased Outside.In, one of many startups that’s tried to figure out how to make local and “hyper-local” news work. The New York-based startup didn’t seem to crack the code either, but at least you can see why AOL might be interested in its team or technology, given Tim Armstrong’s focus on local with his Patch program. Business Insider first reported the transaction.

Voices

Q&A: Aggregation and the Future of Local News

in News on April 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm PT

Hunting through thousands of local blogs for quality tidbits of regional interest is too time-consuming for overtaxed, understaffed news teams. Why not rely on clever algorithms, much the way Facebook manages social news? That logic has inspired news giants to place big bets this past year on aggregation. MSNBC bought automated news site EveryBlock.com, AOL picked up local blog network Patch.com and CNN invested in Outside.in. The next target might be Fwix.com, an automated newswire with a silly name but serious ambition.

Voices

CNN Invests in Neighborhood News Feed Outside.In

in News on December 8, 2009 at 12:30 am PT

CNN.com is investing in Outside.In, a start-up that feeds neighborhood blogs and other local news and information to the Web sites of newspapers, TV stations and other media. The investment, whose size the Time Warner Inc. Web site declined to disclose, comes as news organizations seek more local information about high school sports, eateries and social events, in which they see an untapped market.

Voices

Fwix Unveils Revenue-Sharing Plan for Hyperlocal Bloggers

in News on November 12, 2009 at 7:47 am PT

An online news start-up is going where Google and other giants haven’t: sharing revenue with the people who write the news. Fwix, a one-year-old start-up backed by BlueRun Ventures, is one of a growing number of portals for “hyperlocal” news, a buzzword that refers to sites about schools, culture, gossip and other information on a neighborhood level.

What Happens When Your Local Paper Goes Online-Only? It Loses Most of Its Staff.

in Media on June 24, 2009 at 6:00 am PT

Conventional wisdom is that if today’s newspapers want to survive, they’re going to have to ditch their printing presses and most of their staff and learn to do more with less in an online-only world. OK. But exactly how much less? I’ve been asking Mark Josephson that question for months, and now he has an answer: Josephson, the CEO of local news platform Outside.in, figures the local, online-only newspaper of tomorrow for a decent-sized city has a staff of 20 people. That’s 20 people, period: Perhaps six of those people are “news gatherers.” Here’s his math.
newspaperless

How Not to Save Newspapers: A Facebook Event

in Media on January 17, 2009 at 12:47 pm PT

Everything about “National Buy A Newspaper Day” makes me sad. Except for the passion of the 24-year-old newspaper reporter from Fairbanks, Alaska, who is organizing it.