The Gothamist Network: Gateway to Local News?

This 8-page article from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University in the United States (US) explores New York City–based Gothamist, the flagship site in an international network of metropolitan news blogs. Founded in 2003 by a pair of college friends, the network includes 14 websites in 5 countries, each covering local news, events, food, and entertainment "for an avid audience of young urbanites" (mostly 24- to 36-year-olds). Author Dan Levy asserts that "[r]eaders know they can count on Gothamist and its sister sites to clue them in to the most current and important news about their cities, even on a Sunday or in the middle of the night. The sites are fun and engaging, but as a first-stop local headlines source, they're also remarkably consistent. Quantcast estimates the network reaches 3.2 million unique visitors per month, with nearly 20% of traffic flowing to the New York City site."

Based on a basic blog format, Gothamist sites focus readers on content rather than Web 2.0 innovations. Each site's design and technical features are simple: standard blog style with a two-colour scheme. Although technically run on blogging software, Gothamist and its network of other sites are not author-centric media; rather, the publishers, working with editors who determine editorial direction and oversee writers, happen to be volunteers. Levy explains that, "[b]y adhering to an organic business model, a modest editorial mission, and a laid-back management style, Gothamist's founders have built an army of successful sites that are consistently popular with an audience that includes a steady stream of people willing to make significant commitments as volunteer authors." None of Gothamist's staff has a background in journalism.

Gothamist relies on its readers to generate about half of its content. Positive coverage is both Gothamist's mission and its business strategy; the goal is to foster civic pride and appreciation rather than to tackle touchy subjects. Broadly, content can be sorted into two categories: "meta-coverage", which rounds up and comments on mainstream coverage of news stories, and original reporting. Hard news items tend to fall into the former category, and arts coverage, reviews, and event listings are almost always original. The majority of posts fall under the meta-coverage category; writers synthesise a number of related stories, "rewriting them in a chatty yet authoritative voice..." But, according to Levy, "the company's success is built on fostering community as well as content. The writers' whimsical take on the news seems to attract readers who are intelligent, opinionated, and somewhat cynical. The larger sites, particularly Gothamist, have vibrant comment boards in which registered users debate, editorialize, joke, and generally wax ironic."

Levy explores some of the strategies underpinning this "unique and successful participatory media empire", pointing among other things to Gothamist's ability to attract a pool of skilled writers for little or no pay. "This is likely because the '-ist' brand now carries considerable cachet and because of the recognition that so many former staffers have moved on to professional media careers." The chief editor (also one of the founders) "grants site editors almost complete freedom to set the editorial agenda - as long as they continue to increase traffic. This flexibility has allowed Gothamist's sister sites to forge their own, city-specific identity while benefiting from the resources, technology, and support of the network."

However, Levy wonders whether the sites would retain the loyalty of their staff and contributors if the network were to be sold to a more overtly corporate entity: "Each site depends both for content and audience on maintaining its popularity with an inherently fickle audience that can change its loyalties with the click of a mouse." He is also concerned that "[t]he strategic decision to grow by adding projects that are so simple and involve so little financial risk means that the barriers for competitors are also low."

Levy concludes with some suggestions for further research. He explains that, given that the Gothamist sites are geared toward age groups that, according to the Pew Research Center, are those most likely to get no news at all, it "would be worth investigating how regular '-ist' site readers in a given city compare to the rest of their demographic in their consumption of other news sources, their awareness of public issues, and their political engagement." Further, Levy suggests the possibility of collaboration: "If the '-ist' sites are a reliable conduit of the attention of a hard-to-reach demographic, then efforts to bring more local news to that audience might actively seek partnerships with them, rather than imagining it is possible to convert an '-ist' audience into regular readers of sites that focus on local governance issues."