Andrew Huff speaks to a DePaul University graduate journalism class about his blog Gapers Block. (Photo by Mike Reilley)
A gapers block is Chicago term, that describes traffic slow downs because drivers looking at an accident or other incident. Based on that idea, Andrew Huff wanted to get people to slow down and take a look at what is going on around Chicago on his hyperlocal blog Gapers Block.
Huff is the editor and publisher of the site that started in 2003 now receives around 250,000 visitors per month. The site publishes stories about news or events that are happening in the city. How do they decide on what to write on?
“If it’s interesting to you, it’s going to be interesting to someone else,” Huff said.
Recently, the site received a grant for $35,000 from the Chicago Community Trust to enhance the growth of new sources for quality local news. The grant will allow the site to pay some writers for their submissions. Huff said, that Gapers Block is looking primarily for stories about Chicago communities that are not receiving enough attention.
The site is also undergoing a major redesign and is considering adding a business section. The main idea behind the redesign is to shift and widen the Merge (city news) and Rearview (local photo) sections in order to showcase the writers of the blog more. (more…)
