BBC News journalist Dave Lee has an exciting new media project beside his day job. He set up The Olympic Borough , a hyperlocal news blog covering how the 2012 Olympics is rapidly changing the Newham area. As regular blog followers may have gathered, I’m a big fan of the hyperlocal model but more than aware of its various pitfalls. I asked Dave what it’s really like holding the reins of a hyperlocal blog and what the future is for The Olympic Borough:
The Olympic Borough homepage
You have a full-time and – what appears to be – a quite demanding job. How do you find the time to keep the blog up to date too?
God knows. It’s mainly a combination of late nights, and staying on late at work. Luckily WordPress is an extremely easy CMS to use – therefore whipping up a quick post on a lunch break is pretty simple too.
Does the blog have longevity, do you think it will last beyond the Olympics?
I haven’t really thought that far ahead, and I think the appeal for me was in having a set period of time to dedicate to the project. I find it gives the blog more purpose, and allows me to plan better when key events are taking place over the coming months.
I guess, should the blog prove popular long term, it can carry on past 2012. After all, most of the themes that keep pouring from politicians’ mouths is legacy – so I guess you could say the best time to write about it may even be after the event anyway. Newham will forever be the Olympic borough if you ask me – such a dramatic transformation will define this generation and the next.
What comments and feedback have you received about the blog so far?
It’s early days, but reaction has been positive. Right now, I’m building up some good relationships with the key people in the area – the police, the council and so on. Part of this involves simply sending them the link to see if they find it interesting – and so far reactions have been along the lines of “Oh, I didn’t know about that…”. That tells me I’m doing it right, I think.
How do interviewees react when you say what you are reporting for?
I find if I’m absolutely frank about what I’m doing with the stories they are very keen. Normally, when introducing myself, I just say I run a local news blog. When approaching for a story, I make it clear that the story is for the blog – but some stories may be sold to the wider press. Both strategies seem to get the same results – and when it comes to the council and other ‘big’ groups, I think the draw of it being a friendly, local site plays in my favour.
Are you planning to make any money from the blog?
Yes. In two ways – first, selling stories. I’ve placed one so far - which went down pretty well. They require much more work than most blog posts, so I’m aiming for 1-2 of these per month.
Also, I’m looking to get an advertiser on board. Rather than opting for Google Ads, I’m planning to give it a little bit of thought – and right now I think the most logical option would be something from the property sector. People are flooding to Newham – and estate agents are scrambling to get ahead. Fingers crossed.
How are the stats looking? What are you actively doing to drive traffic?
Stats are decidedly modest – but it is steadily building as more links come in and my Google rank increases. Twitter is a good driver of traffic – and I promote each post, as well as indulging in general chat with followers.
Where do you tend to get your stories from?
I live in the area, and I’m delighted to say I get most of my stories by just keeping my eyes open and seeing what’s happening – or rather just getting in touch with places I know will be affected, such as the local theatre.
I have a rather nifty stream of news coming in from Google Reader – a feed of search terms involving stories about Newham, Olympics, Stratford etc – as well as Google email alerts for any related terms. Twitter is brilliant, a search for ‘Newham’ brings up some really great leads, although that was less useful last month when Snoop Dogg mentioned the “Newham Generals” in his feed, therefore swamping out any other tweets about the area.
Do you stories follow a pre-defined format – in terms of style, content or whatever other rules you may keep to?
I don’t really have a styleguide, but I’m conscious that posts shouldn’t be any longer than they need to be – particularly when I’m dealing with some of the length information that comes from the Olympic press offices.
Content is strictly focused on things caused by the Olympics in Newham. This is quite a wide remit, but it does mean I can filter out any non-Newham specific Olympic news (mainly the sports themselves) and other Newham stories that would have happened whether the Olympics were coming to town or not. It provides a manageable but exciting beat to cover.
Have you enjoyed making the blog so far? Is there anything you’d like to change?
The blog has been fantastic for me so far. Its given me the avenue to stretch my reporting legs in a way my current full-time work at the BBC doesn’t allow.
The only thing I would change is the limitations on my time! I’m in the process of working out how I can get more people involved. I’ve had to pass on two potentially good stories due to work commitments – so being able to call upon some other locals to put in a couple of hours here and there would be really great.
I’m a firm believer in paying for good work, so I’m trying to establish a stronger revenue stream before I go hunting for people to write for me, but I like to think it’s just around the corner.
What advice would you give to others looking to start up their own hyperlocal blog?
Good question – and I’m not sure I’ve been doing it long enough to have learned the real lessons about what works and what doesn’t.
That said, in the couple of months since The Olympic Borough started, it strikes me that the most important thing is to stick rigidly to the area and the subjects you want to cover. You’ll always be scooped by mainstream media on run-of-the-mill stories, but if you narrow out your beat into something defined, a blogger’s more considered approach will potentially dig out stories which the local newspaper men can’t manage. And they’ll be better, of course!
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