The latest attempt to make hyperlocal a sustainable reality came today with Allbritton Communications’ launch of TBD.com, a hyper metro site for the Washington, D.C., area. Allbritton, which has sunk “under $5 million” into the project to date, hopes it will grab hold of the D.C. audience in the same way that its Politico has done with political types — simultaneously via the Web and TV, where it takes over the slot formerly held by Allbritton’s former News Channel 8.

I’ll say right off the bat that I like it a lot. Although I had the opportunity to visit the newsroom with other members of the BIA/Kelsey team about six weeks ago, I got my first glance at the site today. My takeaway? It’s fun, useful and totally up to date with social and mobile media.

Most important, it seems like something I’d probably read (and watch) every day if I still lived in D.C. It just seems natural and un-self-conscious — completely opposite D.C.’s staid (and untrue) image as a stuffed shirt of a city and other hyper metro sites that I won’t name here but that make NPR seem wild and crazy.

The site integrates, a little, with Allbritton’s WJLA TV, and it is co-located with the WJLA newsroom. You’ll see the WJLA programming schedule and its landmark weather reporters Doug Hill and Bob Ryan headline the weather page, for instance.

But it has a totally separate identity, helped by a dozen writers led by former Washington City Paper Editor Erik Wemple. As Wemple notes in a public letter: “One of them writes nothing but lists. One is all over pedestrian life. One holds politicians throughout the region accountable. Three carry a year-round obsession with the Redskins. Three are covering some of the fastest-developing communities in the region. Three are the final authority on all things arts and entertainment.”

The entire site will eventually ramp up soon to about 50, including the TBD News team carried over from News Channel 8, and six community reach-out staffers.The site also seamlessly integrates with 129 D.C.-area bloggers and picks up news from all the D.C. sites, including The Washington Post, and also from WJLA competitors such as WTOP-AM. And much of its substantial neighborhood news comes via a news filter that sorts by ZIP code.

It has also taken some unique approaches that only time will tell will pan out, such as TBD TV, the “companion” channel that takes over from News Channel 8, the 24/7 news channel that had been featured on cable and dish services throughout the metro area. It features programs that sometimes borrow WJLA personalities (i.e., The Arch Campbell Show) but also has begun to produce some of its own unique offerings (i.e. Capital Golf Weekly).

The site was initially slated to launch at the end of August. It is obviously up early — the testing URL leaked and they decided to roll with it. Consequently, the mobile apps (i.e., All Over the iPhone, All over the Android and All Over the Mobile Web) aren’t ready yet, although they’re being promoted, and there is a lot of content that you’d expect to see that isn’t there (i.e., high school sports) and exurban content. It is possible that they’re leaving the tough (and expensive stuff) for the thinning Post to cover.

But we know there are plans to do other things that will be totally innovative if they pull them off, such as having local bloggers for the site featured on the local news when there is a hot breaking story (i.e., the fighting among 70 teens at L’Enfant Plaza Metro station the other night).

The advertising strategies also aren’t fully unveiled, and the site will obviously focus on building up an audience first. Currently, you’ll just see some run of site ads such as Belfort Furniture and contextual tile ads, such as The Washington Ballet under arts, and McCrea Heating and Air Condition under weather.

Will this site ultimately be self sustaining? That’s the big question. It is expected to lose up to $2 million a year as it gets going. But if the site maintains its promising start, the local dollars should theoretically follow. Another question is whether the TV companion will take off.

In the course of writing this post, I was chatting about the site’s debut with hyperlocal pioneer Rob Curley, who ran The Post’s ambitious hyperlocal strategy two years ago before moving on to Greenspun Communications’ Las Vegas Sun. Curley was very enthusiastic about the site’s design. The amazing thing is that they probably showed that sites are more likely to win with a TV station as a partner than a newspaper, he said. That’s food for thought.

The post Allbritton’s TBD.com (and TBD TV) Launch in D.C. appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

If people would only pay for their local content, nobody would be worried about the future of local news. But so far, most have proved less than willing. EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, however, is testing out new models at his Honolulu “Civil Beat” site, per NYU’s Jay Rosen, who talked with TBD.com’s blog.

Full access to the site is $1.49 a day, or $19.95 a month, which might seem pricey for its current editorial output, which averages between four to six articles per day. As with WSJ.com, free days are occasionally offered as promotions (i.e., today).

Much more interesting is a 99-cent monthly fee to be a “discussion member,” with access to article summaries and the consequent discussions and the ability to comment. Rosen told TBD.com that “solves” the issue of getting bona fide comments.

People who engage in the discussions may not know exactly what they are talking about, since they won’t see the full article. But most will probably get the gist of it.

The post Omidyar’s ‘Civil Beat’ Tests Multi Pay Tiers appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

If people would only pay for their local content, nobody would be worried about the future of local news. But so far, most have proved less than willing. EBay founder Pierre Omidyar, however, is testing out new models at his Honolulu “Civil Beat” site, per NYU’s Jay Rosen, who talked with TBD.com’s blog.

Full access to the site is $1.49 a day, or $19.95 a month, which might seem pricey for its current editorial output, which averages between four to six articles per day. As with WSJ.com, free days are occasionally offered as promotions (i.e., today).

Much more interesting is a 99-cent monthly fee to be a “discussion member,” with access to article summaries and the consequent discussions and the ability to comment. Rosen told TBD.com that “solves” the issue of getting bona fide comments.

People who engage in the discussions may not know exactly what they are talking about, since they won’t see the full article. But most will probably get the gist of it.

The post Omidyar's 'Civil Beat' Tests Multi Pay Tiers appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.