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Examiner.com

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Examiner.com is a media company based in Denver, Colorado, that operates a network of hyperlocal news websites, allowing citizen journalists to share their city-based knowledge on a blog-like platform, in over 100 markets throughout the United States and parts of Canada.[1][2][3] Examiner.com is a division of Clarity Media Group, with the primary investor being conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz, owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), Regal Cinemas, and other media and entertainment companies.[1][2][4] Examiner.com claims to have 21,000 contributors, commonly referred to as "Examiners", in addition to the citizen journalists at NowPublic, a Vancouver-based website purchased by Examiner.com in September 2009.[2][5] The company has been criticized for the low compensation received by many "Examiners", and the lack of editorial oversight, including accusations of plagiarism.[2][6][7][5]

History

In 2006, former MapQuest general manager David Schafer, Clarity Digital Media's CEO, founded Examiner.com primarily as a news aggregator for the 60 markets in which Clarity Media trademarked the name "Examiner".[8] By using online geo targeting technology, users were placed into their closest city where they could read the most recent news and updates from both their city's broadcast and print media streams. Readers could also view local, state, national, and international content from the Associated Press.

A small team of engineers and developers led by Maya Iyengar (CTO) and David Rager (Systems Architect) worked over the next 18 months to develop the site into something more than merely a collection of news headlines. Schafer was then replaced[9] by former AOL executive Michael Sherrod in February 2008 (though Schafer stayed on as Chief Operations Officer) and in late April 2008, with a new President and CEO at the helm, the current model of using "Examiners" to write about their city was unveiled.

Launching the new model were 115 "Examiners" in five markets: Denver, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., with the latter three due to the presence of Examiner newspapers already operating in those cities, namely The Baltimore Examiner, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Washington Examiner. There was also a flagship edition, the national edition, where users would be placed if geo targeting efforts failed to produce a designated market area.

In March 2009, Sherrod was replaced by Rick Blair, also formerly of AOL.[10]

On October 29, 2009, the website's first international expansion took place when Examiner.com Canada was launched in Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. Examiner.com will launch in the United Kingdom in 2010.[11]

Pay scale

Examiners are paid based on page views, or the "Gawker-model", made famous by the blog Gawker.com. The more page views an Examiner generates, the more they are reportedly paid.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Stelter, Brian (September 2, 2009). "Examiner.com Buys NowPublic, a Citizen-Media Web Site". The New York Times. nytimes.com. pp. B2. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Rocha, Roberto (October 29, 2009). "News website chain expands into Canada". The Gazette. montrealgazette.com. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  3. ^ "Examiner.com expanding into Canada". Agence France-Presse. news.smh.com.au. October 28, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  4. ^ Harden, Mark (April 18, 2008). "Examiner.com recruits local bloggers". Denver Business Journal. denver.bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Schonfeld, Erick (October 22, 2008). "The Examiner.com Now Wants to Become A Bastion Of Citizen Journalism". TechCrunch. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  6. ^ Smith, Matt (December 4, 2007). "Blogos-Free". SF Weekly. sfweekly.com. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  7. ^ Hoycom, Angela (May 13, 2009). "How Much Are Examiner.com Writers Really Earning?". WritersWeekly. writersweekly.com. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  8. ^ Raine, George (December 22, 2004). "What's in a name? Plenty". San Francisco Chronicle. sfgate.com. pp. C1. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  9. ^ "Anschutz's Clarity Media names online chief, recruits new editors".
  10. ^ "New executives named at Anschutz's Examiner.com".
  11. ^ "Local-Content Provider Examiner.com Expands to Canada". Editor & Publisher. editorandpublisher.com. October 26, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  12. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (December 9, 2009). "Why Does Google Search Love Examiner.com?". Time. time.com. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
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