US: News service launched to distribute local news

Three major news aggregators have signed deals to distribute news from a new service that draws content from small publications. SmallTownPapers News Service (STPNS) says it is "the first news service dedicated exclusively to providing news and feature articles, photographs, sports statistics, vital statistics and other newsworthy information from small markets across the country, most of which have no other vehicle for broadly distributing their unique, local content."

STPNS was created to provide a way for publishers of small market newspapers to distribute their real-time news and information to millions of news consumers. Content aggregators Topix.net, LexisNexis and Newstex, LLC are among the first to sign distribution agreements with STPNS.