Michele's List: More promising local news sites

Remember, these sites must be primarily news, must be making efforts at being transparent, accurate, fair and embracing an ethic of participation. We’ve looked at about 800 sites so far, so we believe our list represents 10 percent who are leading the field in online local news.

For now, we’ve been recording a few details about these sites. Here are some very preliminary patterns:

• Nine in 10 of these sites link prominently from the home page to an “About” page that describes the site mission. About two thirds show direct contact information for staff.

• Nine in 10 enable user comments and about two thirds have integrated social media.

• About one third enable users to upload content. Fewer than one in 10 features calls to action, such as encouraging people to vote, contact an elected representative or volunteer in the community.

• On average, a site posts 30 new items a week, with a range of 3 (our minimum to qualify for the list) to more than 100.

• Three fourths of the sites derive revenue from advertising. About a third rely on donations and/or grants. A small fraction rely on subscriptions or membership.

We’re about to launch a telephone survey of the operators of these Web sites to learn more about their successes and challenges. We’re also organizing a conference for site operators Sept. 23-24 in Chicago. Details coming soon.

If you've got suggestions for sites that should be on our list, please post them in the comments.