Leading Media Strategist Merrill Brown Joins GoLocal24 Board - Parent Co. of GoLocalWorcester.com

Thursday, September 13, 2012

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

New York, NY and Providence, RI – GoLocal24, a rapidly growing digital media business delivering local news and information to midsized markets, announced that Merrill Brown, founding Editor in Chief of MSNBC.com and a member of the founding team of Court TV, has joined the Board of Directors of GoLocal24. Brown began his career as a newspaper reporter and worked for several newspapers before becoming a Washington Post reporter. GoLocalWorcester is a key component of the GoLocal24 company.

“GoLocal24 is unique, representing the next-generation of local news. GoLocal24 stands out in that it a rare example of a local news site that is both consistently leading their markets with high value enterprise journalism and at the same time building strong revenues and monetize their sites,” Brown said.

Today, Brown serves as Director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University, is a strategic consultant and is an advisor and board member at a host of successful digital media enterprises.

GoLocal24 operates local news content sites in two markets — Providence, RI and Central Massachusetts. Both sites have realized rapid growth. GoLocalProv.com has grown by more than 500% in the past 12 months to now more than 2.5 million pageviews per month. The recently launched GoLocalWorcester.com exceeded 1 million pageviews in July.

Merrill Brown

“The GoLocal24-model is proving to be a real solution to the void being left by the contracting newspaper and local broadcasting industries. As news organizations cut staff and reduce numbers of days of publishing, GoLocal 24's ability to break the biggest stories and lead the news cycle is driving engagement with users,” said Brown.

“Merrill’s addition to the board is another milestone for GoLocal24 and further validates our model. He has a track record of building great media companies and we are excited about his addition to our team,” said Josh Fenton, Co-Founder and CEO of GoLocal24.

In recent weeks, GoLocal’s content has been picked up by Politico, Huffington Post, CBS Radio, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, Clear Channel, Deadspin, Cumulus, Entercom’s WEEI, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Providence Journal, and dozens of other news organizations.

“We are seeing unprecedented growth and behavioral change by readers and viewers. The GoLocal brand is becoming a principal source of news and we are seeing national news organizations as well as local TV and radio, depend on GoLocal’s reporting,” said Fenton said.

GoLocal24 focuses on delivering the highest value local content – enterprise investigative stories, lifestyle, and local sports. The sites do not publish stories from news services. GoLocal’s model highlights the work of many of the best journalists in the region and features top opinion writers including former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Tom Finneran, broadcast sports icon Bob Lobel, progressive leader and former candidate for Governor Grace Ross and includes the work of more than 60 other reporters, editors, experts, and MINDSETTERS™.

Learn more about GoLocal24 http://www.golocal24.com