NewsWorks in Philly: A “potential template” for pubcasting?

NewsWorks.org, the ambitious online community news site from WHYY in Philadelphia that launched in November, “just might be the most clearly articulated potential template for public media’s Web future,” notes NetNewsCheck in a story today (June 20). William J. Marrazzo, WHYY president, plans on pumping $1.1 million a year into the site, which has been in development for nearly a decade; NewsWorks generated about 45 percent of WHYY’s $100,000 online revenue during the company’s 2011 fiscal year. So far it receives about 210,000 visitors monthly, with a growth rate of about 20 percent per month. Marrazzo said the station wants to “cut our teeth on hyperlocal markets,” as well as broaden the multimedia skills of its journalists and reach a younger audience with the site.