It occurred to me that hyperlocalism is a problem/opportunity for national and larger newspapers – not so much for magazines.
The new media buzzword is ‘hyperlocal’. Thanks to the Guardian’s experiment in Leeds and others being undertaken by other newspapers in smaller communities, local people are blogging about local issues important to local people. The Guardian, rather typically, appears to be undertaking this for the benefit of journalism, rather than for its own emolument, when – losing £100,000 a day – it ought to look to its coffers.
But it occurred to me that hyperlocalism is a problem/opportunity for national and larger newspapers – not so much for magazines. That is because they are hyperlocal already, just not geographically: Spear’s, for example, is hyperlocal for high net worths, and Horse and Hound for country folk; even The Week is hyperlocal for time-poor news-lovers. By the very nature of most magazines, they appeal – and have always appealed to a segment, rather than seeking pan-market domination.
Which is why while magazines (beyond Condé Nast) are not undergoing the existential crisis of the newspaper industry: we have our audiences (small, but perfectly formed) already.
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