TAPinto

TAPinto is a network of more than 80 independently owned and operated local news websites in New Jersey, New York, and Florida.[1][2][3][4] Based in New Providence, New Jersey,[1][2] TAPinto.net is one of the largest online local news gathering operations in New Jersey. It was founded by New Providence residents Michael and Lauryn Shapiro in October 2008 to provide independent local news.[3] In the past two decades there has been a seismic decline in local journalism, with many publications going bankrupt; in the coverage vacuum, hyperlocal online media such as TAPinto are often the only local news coverage that many communities get.[5][6]

TAPinto.net
(formerly The Alternative Press)
Type of site
News
Headquarters
New Providence, New Jersey
,
U.S.
Area servedNew Jersey, New York, Florida
Founder(s)Michael Shapiro
Key peopleMichael Shapiro, CEO
IndustryLocal News
ServicesOnline news and opinion
URLwww.tapinto.net
LaunchedOctober 2008
Current statusActive
TAPinto has coverage in the densely populated areas of northern New Jersey as well as coverage in the New York State counties of Westchester and Putnam, and plans to expand throughout the tri-state area.

TAPinto operates on a franchise model. Each TAPinto site is independently owned and operated by a franchisee, who pays an annual fee and a percentage of advertising revenue to the owners.[2] In exchange, the network provides a content management system and helps with both the business and editorial sides of their operation.[7] Some sites are operated by individuals, while others are operated by a group of two to four people who each work on the site part-time.[7] Many of the site owners are business-oriented people, nonprofits, and one is managed by a university. Other site owners include political consultants and aides, such as Steve Lenox, who owns the Bayonne site; journalists, such as magazine journalist Jackie Lieberman and former Star-Ledger reporter Fred J. Aun, who operates TAPinto Roxbury. Several are former editors for Patch Media, a hyperlocal news network formerly operated by America Online.[8][9]

In 2014, the network's name was changed from The Alternative Press to TAPinto and it began using the new web address of TAPinto.net. In 2018, TAPinto's franchise model for local news was featured in Street Fight magazine.[10] In 2017, CEO Michael Shapiro appeared on One on One with Steve Adubato discussing the state of news media and the TAPinto model.[11]

Notable coverage

In 2017, TAPinto Newark broke the story of an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark being punched in the face during Mass at Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart and then became the first media outlet in the country to obtain and air the video of the assault.[12][13] In 2016, TAPinto was the primary source when it covered how a Yorktown man won a $76,000 jackpot on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune; TAPinto reported that the contestant learned about the show's theme in advance and studied prodigiously, enabling him to solve an entire puzzle while only knowing the first letter.[14] TAPinto was the first to report the meeting of comedians Stephen Colbert and Jerry Seinfeld at a taping of Seinfeld's show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee which was filmed in Montclair, New Jersey.[15] It has sponsored government events such as the annual Meet the Mayors breakfast.[16] TAPinto engages in collaborative partnerships including TAPinto Cranford partnering with a Cranford Radio station on an innovative podcast.[17] TAPinto sponsored summittoday.org, a free community calendar for the city of Summit by providing a digital solution for content creation, as well as hosting the site free of charge.[18] TAPinto was also named 2017 Partner of the Year by NJ News Commons.[19]

References
  1. Street Fight Magazine, Tom Grubisich, October 9, 2014, Mike Shapiro’s TAP Gets New Branding and a Network Strategy, Retrieved May 16, 2018, "...The six-year-old Alternative Press (TAP) network of community news sites in suburban New Jersey and Pennsylvania has a new name — TAPinto.net — and a new ... strategy aimed at leveraging content and audience reach across TAPinto’s sites, 32 of which are franchisees and a few wholly owned ... A former litigation attorney, Shapiro ..."
  2. Columbia Journalism Review, Susie Xie, March 25, 2016, https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/new_jersey_sites_tap_into_local_news.php, Retrieved May 16, 2018, "...Within the past seven years, TAPinto has expanded to 51 sites ... Shapiro says the sites have received a combined 4.2 million unique visitors over the last year ... readership consisting mainly of local residents... About 500 businesses advertise with TAPinto, ..."
  3. TAPinto: About Us
  4. "With 66 Franchises, TAPinto Is Ready to Expand Up and Down Coast | Street Fight". streetfightmag.com. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  5. Media Shift, Stephanie Murray, December 18, 2017, Top 6 Journalism Collaborations of 2017, Retrieved May 16, 2018, "...the ranks of local journalists have been decimated in the United States over the last decade..."
  6. David W. Chen, The New York Times, January 3, 2017, In New Jersey, Only a Few Media Watchdogs Are Left, Retrieved May 16, 2018, "...Michael M. Shapiro is the chief executive and publisher of TapInto.Net, which started in 2008 and has expanded to 60 towns with a franchise model....."
  7. Michele McLellan, April 6, 2014, Can local news scale? The Alternative Press tests a franchise model in New Jersey, Knight Digital Media Center, Retrieved May 5, 2016]
  8. TAPinto.net Announces Launch of Bridgewater-Raritan Site, Franchised by Former Bridgewater Patch Editor and Current Newspaper Owner Audrey Blumberg
  9. Former Patch Editors See Bright Future for The Alternative Press Model
  10. "With 66 Franchises, TAPinto Is Ready to Expand Up and Down Coast | Street Fight". streetfightmag.com. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  11. Steve Adubato (2017-03-17), TAPinto.net Providing Hyperlocal News to NJ Communities, retrieved 2018-06-04
  12. "Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Newark Assaulted During Mass in Cathedral". TAPinto. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  13. "EXCLUSIVE: Video Footage of Attack on Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Newark During Mass in Cathedral". TAPinto. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  14. Jaclyn Hendricks (March 30, 2016). "Contestant solves 'Wheel of Fortune' puzzle with one letter". New York Post. Retrieved May 5, 2016. ...$76,000 jackpot...“Wheel of Fortune,” ...correctly guessed the opening-round toss-up puzzle with the help of the lone letter “D” ... I came up ... list of puzzles themed ... anything on the water,” Santoli told local website Tapinto....
  15. My9NJ.com, Comedy filmed in Montclair's Bluestone Coffee Shop starring Seinfeld and Colbert, Retrieved May 16, 2018, "...TAP into Montclair was the first to report on April 9 that Jerry Seinfeld had been spotted in Montclair's Bluestone Coffee..."
  16. Ledger Local (March 10, 2016). "Area Chambers to host 'Meet the Mayors' Breakfast on April 2 in West Caldwell". NJ.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016. ...Six local Chambers of Commerce ... League of Women Voters ... New Jersey State League of Municipalities as hosts of the annual "Meet the Mayors" Breakfast. ..Media sponsors are: TAPinto ....
  17. Amditis, Joe (2017-12-01). "Cranford Radio partners with TAPinto Cranford to create collaborative local news podcast". Medium. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  18. Ledger Local (December 1, 2015). "Local organizations Summit Today, city-wide community calendar". NJ.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016. ...More than 25 organizations in Summit have joined together to create summittoday.org, a free community calendar that is available for non-profit and other local organizations to post information online about events in Summit....TapInto Summit generously donated a digital solution...
  19. Joe Amditis (February 2, 2018). "Center for Cooperative Media announces winners of the 2017 NJ News Commons Excellence in Local News Awards". Center for Cooperative Media. Retrieved April 4, 2018. ...The 2017 Parter of the Year award went to TAPinto.net ... TAPinto increased the number of franchisees from 54 to 71 sites in 2017, 66 of which are independently owned. That’s helping more communities in New Jersey get access to news and information about the place they live. The company’s total site traffic also increased by 29 percent and the number of unique users grew by 32 percent.....
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