The world of print journalism is changing really fast.

The big guys–Rocky Mountain News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Gourmet–are cleaving into the ocean like the outer sheets of icebergs. The sad fact is that big-time newspapers were done a few years back when these two things happened:

1. They didn’t make their websites ‘pay’ from the very beginning.
2. Craig Newmark sucked out the newspapers’ reliable old cash cow, the classifieds, with his ultra-simple, fantastic, non-profit and quietly print media-hating site.

In the absence of the big boys we believe that what will fill that vacuum will be websites like ours. Why?

1. Something, from now until forever, must fill the information vacuum that humans have come to rely on almost as much as oxygen.
2. There can’t be a ‘new print’ because the things that make print print–the paper, the ink, the drivers, the buildings–are too expensive in this world where so much more media is competing for so much less advertising dollars. So web it is.
3. They will be hyperlocal because:

• They make so little money that we believe the publishers/editors need to have an ulterior motive, like a desire to make their communities better (at best), or to support their business, political cause, or religious fervor (at worst).
• There will always be a few big print outlets (even if the government has to subsidize), so the gap in the market is hyperlocal news.
• This one is more of a theory, but we believe that as a society we have become spread thin over the past few generations. This has happened because of the exponential growth of media, new modes of travel, and by all the economic flattenings of the world Thomas Friedman writes about. We believe there will be a backlash against this (largely buoyed by the environmental arguments that point toward the benefits of supporting local business), and we will reconnect with our immediate communities in a way we haven’t seen since the early 20th century.

But there’s a problem with hyperlocal web magazines like ours: You’re in bed with everyone, and that leads to slanted coverage.

The fact is, whether we are transparent about it or not (and whether we are honest with ourselves or not), we at AltDaily are going to sometimes write fluff pieces about our advertisers. So we may as well be transparent about it, right?

The Naro Cinema--a definite Placemaker.

[Sidenote: Let us define fluff piece: an article written about a business or a person that makes no attempt at serious journalism, but which instead celebrates what's good about that business or person. Everything in the article is factual, but no attempt is made to criticize or to quote those critical of the said business or person.]

If we’re going to be completely honest, we’d love to be able to write a fluff piece about every advertiser. From where we stand they aren’t just pushing their business, they are supporting the best pars of our community, our little journalism project here, and us as hungry human beings. When someone advertises we want to hug them. (And sometimes we do.) Even if our hearts and minds are those of journalists, we are an independent local business too.

Which all leads to our new model of local journalism. You have to remember that we were Hampton Roads residents before we were the editor/publishers of AltDaily, and back then we had our unbiased favorites in the area. That’s where we start: with the businesses that we already liked, and that we thought provided their own shiny bits of soul to Hampton Roads. We’re calling them the “Placemakers.” Click here for the list.

The idea is that if you are one of the Placemakers, when it comes time for fluffier pieces, you will be given a priority. If you are also an advertiser, you will get double priority. Whenever we do a story about an advertiser, we will mention it at some point in the article. We promise.

Some other rules about the Placemakers list:

• You can’t buy your way in. We have to genuinely love what you do.
• You can be a Placemaker and not be an advertiser; you can be an advertiser and not be a Placemaker. If Enron wanted to advertise we’d let them, but they’d never be a Placemaker.
• Even if someone is a Placemaker–if they do something unethical, illegal, or non-community oriented, of a newsworthy manner, we will write about it.
• Most members of the Placemakers list will be: locally-owned, independent, consciously community building, somehow green-minded or vegetarian-friendly and certainly GLBT-friendly, and operate more like Humanists and less like Capitalists.

Yah dig?

If something feels off, or if you have a question, please ask it in the comment section. This idea is a work in progress. We fully admit we might be missing something here. If we are, we will add/incorporate it.

Up, up and away! Click here for our Placemakers page, which will be updated as we continue to explore these Seven Cities and find more of our favorites.