Metafilter

When it comes to Net news, small can be beautiful

By J.D. Lasica
Online Journalism Review

Everybody knows about the 800-pound gorillas of online news — nytimes.com, CNN.com, MSNBC — but there’s another group that’s contributing mightily to the craft of Web journalism: the solo, lone-wolf operation.

These outfits, each created and operated largely by one person, show that you don’t need a large staff and venture-capital seed money to do news on the Net.

What the creators of KenRadio, Kuro5hin, IWantMedia and Metafilter share is a relentless drive, a passion for their subject matter, and an abiding respect for the power of the Internet to reach thousands of readers cheaply and effectively. In the case of Kuro5hin and Metafilter, they also rely on users creating much of the sites’ content.

For news professionals or students of online journalism, all four are worth checking out. [Read more…] about Independents Day: 4 grassroots media sites