AnnArbor.com has far fewer journalists than its predecessor, the Ann Arbor News, but far more bloggers. Ed Vielmetti, the social media pioneer hired to wrangle the independent web publishers, expects the site to launch with forty or fifty and eventually expand to as many as 100. Early recruits include Lisa Leutheuser aka the Kitchen Chick; Patti Smith, who blogs about beer and food; bookstore owner Nicola Rooney; and Think Local First’s Ingrid Ault–as well as a couple Zingerman’s staffers.
Most will not be paid; they’re writing for the prestige, personal satisfaction, or the chance to promote themselves professionally–though Vielmetti says he’ll reject “completely self-serving, self-promoting copy. You just don’t want to print crap.”
