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Articles by Maura R. O'Connor | Email the Author
Eye on Annapolis
Unadorned, up-to-the-minute news for Maryland’s capital city
By Maura R. O'Connor May 7, 2012 at 01:46 PM
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Eye on Annapolis, a website covering Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and capital city of Annapolis, has forged a... More
The Local East Village
NYU student reporting for the NYT
By Maura R. O'Connor Apr 20, 2012 at 06:22 PM
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — In 2009, The New York Times made drastic changes in its approach to local news. The... More
National Institute on Money in State Politics
Tracking political donations and their influence in all fifty states
By Maura R. O'Connor Apr 3, 2012 at 02:28 PM
HELENA, MONTANA — Edwin Bender believes that building a database is like writing a really good story. "What fascinated me... More
Homicide Watch
Reinventing the homicide beat for the digital age
By Maura R. O'Connor Mar 5, 2012 at 11:56 AM
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA — Mico Briscoe. Black. Male. 18. Shot on November 26, 2011. Marcellus J. Darnaby, aka "Boom."... More
South King Media
A network of six hyperlocals in Washington State
By Maura R. O'Connor Feb 15, 2012 at 11:43 AM
BURIEN, WASHINGTON — In 2007, Scott Schaefer, an Emmy Award-winning comedy writer who worked on shows like Bill Nye the... More
California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting
A health newswire for the California press
By Maura R. O'Connor Feb 7, 2012 at 12:22 PM
ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA — The California HealthCare Foundation's Center for Health Reporting aims to produce investigative journalism "without an agenda" and... More
NOWCastSA
Multimedia community news for San Antonio, Texas
By Maura R. O'Connor Jan 27, 2012 at 11:55 AM
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — This spring, San Antonio residents will vote on a five-year, $596 million bond package intended to... More
Connecticut Health Investigative Team
Far-reaching niche investigations for the Nutmeg State
By Maura R. O'Connor Jan 26, 2012 at 01:55 PM
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT — In 2010, award-winning journalist Lisa Chedekel published a story detailing how more than a dozen Connecticut... More
GrossePointeToday.com
Nonprofit hyperlocal news in suburban Detroit
By Maura R. O'Connor Jan 12, 2012 at 10:19 AM
GROSSE POINTE, MICHIGAN — When the 2010 Census was released, it revealed some interesting changes in the metro Detroit community... More
RiverheadLocal
Local news and web advertising for Riverhead, Long Island
By Maura R. O'Connor Jan 9, 2012 at 12:15 PM
RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK — In 2009 Denise Civiletti tried to switch careers, but in the end she came back to... More
Brownstoner
Covering (and riding) Brooklyn’s real estate wave
By Maura R. O'Connor Dec 5, 2011 at 11:54 AM
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — In 2004, a number of forces inspired Jonathan Butler to launch popular Brooklyn-based website Brownstoner.com. He... More
Silicon Prairie News
A home on the range for Midwest tech coverage
By Maura R. O'Connor Nov 28, 2011 at 11:08 AM
OMAHA, NEBRASKA — In the summer of 2008, Jeff Slobotski was working for the sales team of a technology company... More
LocallyGrownNews.com
A network of news sites devoted to local food coverage
By Maura R. O'Connor Nov 7, 2011 at 03:26 PM
ELON, NORTH CAROLINA — Journalist Michelle Ferrier has been involved in creating online communities for over ten years, and was... More
The Natomas Buzz
Hyperlocal news for a Sacramento, Calif. community
By Maura R. O'Connor Oct 31, 2011 at 02:50 PM
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — In June of 2008, journalist Brandy Tuzon Boyd was scrolling through daily crime reports in Natomas, a... More
Neighborhood Notes
Hyperlocal news and advertising in Portland, Oregon
By Maura R. O'Connor Oct 20, 2011 at 11:41 AM
PORTLAND, OREGON — For hyperlocal news sites, one problem looms above all others: while demand for hyperlocal news is growing... More
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
The completist guide to Star Trek
Matt Yglesias watched every Star Trek movie and every episode of every TV show in the franchise
The uncomfortable questions not raised by Benghazi
The press and Congress are asking the wrong questions
Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal
A video that appears to show Toronto’s mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade
Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration
The threat of even grander leaks
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.














