TAPinto is a network of more than 80 independently owned and operated local news websites in New Jersey, New York, and Florida.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 ..."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, ..."TAPinto: About Us
/ref> Based in New Providence, New Jersey, ''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. 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.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..."David W. Chen, The New York Times, January 3, 2017

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....." ''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. In exchange, the network provides a

content management system A content management system (CMS) is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content ( content management).''Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy''. Ann Rockley, Pamela Kostur, Steve Manning. New ...

and helps with both the business and editorial sides of their operation.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] 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. 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, Paterson, Hamilton/Robbinsville, Hoboken, and Jersey City sites; 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 Patch.com is an American local news and information platform, primarily owned by Hale Global. As of January 2022, Patch's more than 100 journalists operated some 1,259 hyperlocal news websites, which also have an information component, in 50 U. ...

'', a hyperlocal news network formerly operated by ''

America Online AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

''. 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. In 2017, CEO Michael Shapiro appeared on ''One on One with Steve Adubato'' discussing the state of news media and the ''TAPinto'' model.

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. 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. ''TAPinto'' was the first to report the meeting of comedians

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 t ...

and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he created and wrote with Larr ...

at a taping of Seinfeld's show ''Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' which was filmed in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New Yor ...

.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..." It has sponsored government events such as the annual ''Meet the Mayors'' breakfast. ''TAPinto'' engages in collaborative partnerships including ''TAPinto Cranford'' partnering with a Cranford Radio station on an innovative podcast. ''TAPinto'' sponsored ''summittoday.org'', a free community calendar for the city of

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

by providing a digital solution for content creation, as well as hosting the site free of charge. ''TAPinto'' was also named 2017 Partner of the Year by NJ News Commons.

References

{{reflist

External links

TAPinto franchise information
Internet properties established in 2008 Local mass media in the United States Mass media in New Jersey Mass media in Pennsylvania New Providence, New Jersey Companies based in Morris County, New Jersey