Upton Daily – A hyperlocal success story?

On March 5 Upton Daily will be in publication for one year. What started out as a stay at home mom posting daily news tidbits in an attempt to provide daily news to Upton seems to be growing into something the community enjoys. People like hyperlocal news.

It’s often asked how does Upton Daily make money.  Well, Upton Daily doesn’t  sell advertising and hasn’t done anything to monetize the site at this point. All the stories come your way from that same stay at home mom who started the blog a year ago.

So the question – is  Upton Daily is a hyperlocal success story if it isn’t making any money?

According to Professor Jennifer Lord Paluzzi of Emerson College the answer is yes.

Professor Paluzzi recently wrote a piece “Hyperlocal Journalism – It Should Work But It’s Not Always the Case,” which reviews why some hyperlocal online news sites are working and others are not.  Professor Paluzzi points out having a community voice is important and is part of the formula that makes hyperlocal work. Will running a hyperlocal news source get you rich, according to Paluzzi that answer is no. In the piece Professor Paluzzi lists several sites which are working and Upton Daily made the list. Paluzzi wrote, “I will throw in one more created by someone who does NOT have a journalism background — Upton Daily, another site created after the Daily Voice shutdown.”

Upton Daily looks to continue to grow readership and may one day figure out a way to monetize the site, but today Upton Daily is feeling good about being around for a year and providing the community with something they enjoy… hyperlocal daily news.