“The trial was initially planned to take place over a three-month period, starting at the end of November, but was extended by one month to ensure sufficient data was collected.”

“It was the first phase of an ongoing review of how Johnston Press should manage its news provision online.”

Steve met-up with former Birmingham Mail (Trinity Mirror) editor Steve Dyson last week. He concluded that regional publishers are failing to engage readers online and that “[...] done right, the internet offers opportunities for regional publishers to address some of the weaknesses in their business models that have been building for years (e.g. ad sales sliding yet people prepared to pay for pictures that feature their kids or interest groups).”

In its current guise hyperlocal journalism is either an experiment by the large regional publishers such as Trinity Mirror’s Your Place network in the North East, or is the pursuit of freelancers as part of a portfolio career.

Sources of funding are limited. Online readers almost certainly won’t pay for local news and Google’s adword network is not sufficiently granular to stretch to a post code area and is overly complex.

It’s why I think Addiply’s hyperlocal ad network is compelling. It makes advertising as simple as posting an ad in a newsagent. And that’s important for local businesses with limited technical expertise.

The Addiply team has a two-fold strategy: it is brokering deals with regional media groups and individuals that run hyperlocal blogs at the same time as pre-loading its ad network by pulling in national advertisers seeking to roll our regional campaigns.

At the point that Addiply reaches near nationwide coverage and is able to offer hyperlocal bloggers a startup package of guaranteed inventory to run on their sites from launch, it will have created a compelling business model for hyperlocal sites.

If you’re interested in exploring business models for the future of media head to the North East of England.

That’s the call of Rick Waghorn who has written an excellent summary of the numerous projects in the region that are exploring aspects of content creation, delivery and financial models.

“If anyone wants to know where the future of the UK’s new media landscape will be forged and decided, it’ll be in the North-East of England. […] Whether by accident or design [it is a] very interesting place to be now media-wise,” says Waghorn.

Hyper local network
Trinity Mirror has created the Your Place network of 22 hyperlocal blogs fed by local bloggers and journalists the length and breadth of Northumberland. I’m an occasional contributor to my local site in the Rothbury area

Meanwhile Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday), an ambitious journalism student at the University of Sunderland, has launched SR2, a stylishly produced site dedicated to reporting about the SR2 postcode area of Sunderland. He is aiming to go ad funded to cover costs

Ad model
Trinity Mirror has recently opened up its Your Place project to an ad network called Addiply. It enables businesses to set up an ad campaign for a specific geographical audience for £5 per week.

Pay walls
The Northumberland Gazette is one of six weekly regionals in the Johnston Press stable that will disappear behind a paywall in a trial that starts on Monday. Will readers sign-up and pay online? I doubt it, but it will be interesting to watch.

I’m onboard as a community correspondent on the Your Place project in the North East developed by the Trinity Mirror-owned Newcastle Journal. It’s created a network of 22-regional micro sites each of which are fed with content by local bloggers.

As a contributor I’ve been provided with a set of content guidelines and invited to post local news and information.

Northumberland editor Graeme Whitfield provides a light editorial touch and readers are encouraged to comment on posts and submit their own content.

Each micro-site each carries sponsored links, local ads and Google ads. It’s a smart model that returns regional media to its grassroots embedded within communities.

Could the Journal founded in 1852 be developing the new model for regional media?