The venerable Larchmont Gazette has suspended publication as of today. Hyperlocal before there even was such a word,
"Judy and Paula" (Silberstein and Eisenberg) were pioneers in the space when they went on line in 2002.
For the last three years, we’ve been competitors, a natural and necessary relationship among Journalists, when information is the goal and the
variety of storytelling styles, especially those afforded by new technologies, can be wide.
We’ve often looked over one another’s shoulders and, in our case, having them around only made us better. We hope they felt the same.< /span>
For several weeks, we have known this was coming, and it was news, but in this case, we chose to let the Gazette make its own announcement. They earned the right to that story.
The Gazette may or may not reappear with a new team. In either case, the Loop welcomes Gazette readers and contributors. Our Community deserves the best of both.
If you are going to print rumors, as you do, then I don’t agree with your decision to withhold the information that the Gazette was about to suspend operations. I am a proponent of privacy rights and don’t think rumors are a good use of a journalist’s time (which of course doesn’t mean people don’t want to hear or read rumors). That said, I think reporting rumors selectively is potentially a more significant problem, because it allows the journalist to decide who deserves privacy and who doesn’t. Of course, we live in an age where real news is reported selectively by much more mainstream publications than The Loop.
but please don’t lose your wonderful tone/irreverence. It’s what makes
The Loop so appealing and different.
Frankly, I don’t think of you as competitors – the Gazette has alwasys featured more indepth reporting and was a valuable community resource for real local info, including obituaries, etc.
editrix thanks for your comment. and for your loyalty to both publications.
theLoop considered ourselves to be a complementary news source. when theLoop came to be, we wanted to give you an information source that leverages new technology, for people to participate in shaping the conversation, and the need for a dialogue.
we hope we are achieving that and will miss the gazette as much as others will.
Perhaps you can use this “opportunity” to make The Loop a bit more like a newspaper, as The Larchmont Gazette was and maybe again will be, with more meat to your stories?
editrix we will certainly try. at the moment we are more or less a one-woman show with a few talented part-timers. we welcome those who are interested in helping us cover the community. remember, our goal was to complementary; to leverage new technologies that enable conversations and draw attention to issues that you consider important. if you are interested in helping, pls email me at editrix@theloopny.com and thank you.