A new database is designed to help online news publishers connect with other publishers who have similar goals or challenges.

Since 2010, Michele’s List has documented and cataloged promising local news start ups in the United States. Now, thanks to support from The Patterson Foundation, the list has been redesigned as an online database.

Michele’s List uses original survey data from local online news publishers. Some of the data is published onto a profile page for each site and publishers can use the site’s filters to find other publishers whose experiences may be of help.

The data details information such as the type of site, the area it serves, the primary topics it covers, revenue and revenue sources, traffic, tax status and site platform. So a publisher could look up something as specific as What neighborhood sites are making making $100,000 a year, primarily from local advertising sales?" "Who has established a secondary revenue stream from events?" "Who is on WordPress?"

Other information in the survey is confidential and will be aggregated to produce a report later this year that explores developments in online community news. Michele’s List is the work of Michele McLellan, the senior programming consultant for Knight Digital Media Center at USC Annenberg.