Facing competition from Patch, Boston.com announced today it’s expanding its hyperlocal effort from the suburbs into the city itself, launching six new “Your Town” sites in Boston neighborhoods — with 11 more coming soon. “We believe adjusting the ‘Your Town’ model to include coverage of neighborhoods will be the most useful way to serve Bostonians,” said Robert Kempf, VP of digital at the newspaper. “It is hyperlocal journalism at its best.”
The sites feature all the standard hyperlocal staples — news, events, discussions, high school sports, user photos — plus readers can pay their city bills online and report a pothole. Each neighborhood will be staffed with local reporters, and editors will “curate content from the best neighborhood bloggers.”
Boston.com now covers 37 communities in the greater Boston region. Patch has been expanding aggressively in Massachussetts, with 25 sites and five more on the way.