Type semiweekly newspaper Owner(s) Morris Communications Editor Lawrence Conneff | Format Broadsheet Publisher Michael Traynor Founded 2005 | |
 | ||
Bluffton Today is a daily newspaper in Bluffton, South Carolina that integrates many elements of citizen journalism into its tight local focus. Some industry analysts regard the newspaper as a possible future model for small newspapers across the country.[1] The paper prints in a tabloid format, which is unusual for a paper of its circulation size.
Contents
Morris Communications started the newspaper in 2005 after the company folded the Carolina Morning News, a wraparound of the Savannah Morning News.
Bluffton Today originally was a free daily newspaper, but on Dec. 1, 2008, it began charging 25 cents per copy (75 cents on Sundays). The publisher said the newspaper had to start charging because of rising newsprint costs and declining advertising revenue.[2]
Newspaper
The newspaper's "hyperlocal" format focuses mostly on Bluffton, a small-but-rapidly-growing town outside of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Much of the content is locally produced, with only limited amounts of wire copy.
The paper's content focuses on human interest stories and emphasizes the local angle in its news, entertainment, business and editorial sections.
Web site
The paper's award-winning web site, blufftontoday.com, uses reader-submitted blogs as its main mechanism for communication. These blogs often find their way back into the paper in articles written by the paper's staff of professional journalists, as color for other articles or as part of the paper's "Best of the Web" section.
The site also allows readers to submit photos, and a number of "spotters" cover local events for the web site.
The site uses the PHP-based Drupal as its back-end system.