Homicide Watch D.C. wants to join a traditional newsroom
Correction:
A headline that originally appeared on TBD's homepage stated that Laura Amico wanted to sell Homicide Watch. She emailed me to make an important clarification, writing that "we're not selling the site, but licensing the software in packages along with editorial support." (See her comment below, too.) Also, the site received 136,000 pageviews last month, not 135,000.
Homicide Watch D.C., a local blog that catalogs, maps, and otherwise reports on every murder in the city, launched only a year ago. But already the small operation — Laura Amico runs it, with a design assist from husband Chris — is seeing impressive growth for its size, drawing 136,000 pageviews last month. Problem is, it's a lot of work to maintain and it doesn't earn a cent.
"So a big redesign last week marked the beginning of the next phase for Homicide Watch: selling it," Nieman Lab reports:
Over the next six months, Amico will be courting local media outlets to try to license the Homicide Watch platform and all of her existing reporting. Amico would move into a consulting role, serving as both tech support and editor-on-call. If it works in D.C., Amico plans to peddle the software platform in markets across the country.
TBD's former general manager, Jim Brady, citing a stat that 48 percent of the Texas Tribune's Web traffic comes from its government salary database, tweeted yesterday, "Anyone who still scoffs at the value of database journalism should go visit @TexasTribune. Insane to me we're not doing more DB journalism."
I agree with my old boss, but there's no word yet whether the Post, City Paper, or other local media outlets do. And if you're wondering about TBD's interest in licensing Homicide Watch's platform, don't ask me! I just write and edit stuff.
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