Hyper local sites are now in 300 neighborhoods, she said, ten times the number in the fourth quarter.

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While many hyper local sites, including Pits 'n' Pots and The Lichfield Blog, are staffed by former journalists they are not full-time reporters for recognised publications.

BBC: The fight for a right to report

Funded by 4iP and others it aims to recruit and train 3, 000 community activists to produce their own hyper local news sites.

BBC: The fight for a right to report

At the moment hyper-local sites tend to be filled with discussions of town fetes and the next music night at the village pub.

ECONOMIST: Local newspapers in peril

Most of the participants are focused on producing hyper-local news sites.

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