I'm going to be launching a local explanatory news site, focusing on the Atlanta area, in the early spring. I've been setting up the web infrastructure, looking at revenue models, and the other boring housekeeping things necessary to having a good launch.
Now I'm beginning to think more carefully about the general outlines of content, and would like feedback from any of you who have opinions on local news. I have a lengthier explanation of the questions here but I don't care if you answer on my site or under the diary here. I'll come back here to read answers.
I'm trying to avoid assumptions about how people read or use local news, and to directly ask as many people as possible about their preferences for subject matter. Obviously local newspapers are not doing very well financially at the moment, and I'd like to think that it's possible to create content that is compelling enough for people to return regularly.
The questions are:
What topics do you think are not getting adequate coverage by local news media?
What is the first thing you read when you look at media which covers local news? (for example: sports? politics? entertainment? self-improvement articles?)
What topics would you read regularly if someone offered them on a consistent basis?
These questions are just the beginning to see if I get strong responses. Later I'm going to put together a less informal survey.