Boston.com Launches Medford Page

– Allison Goldsberry

Boston.com has branched out its new community websites to three north of Boston communities- Medford, Malden, and Melrose.

The sites are part of several that the Boston Globe and its online affiliate, boston.com, have launched since late last year as part of a network of community coverage called Your Town. Medford’s site is www.boston.com/medford.

“The response to the first Your Town sites, in Newton, Waltham, Needham and Wellesley, has been terrific, and we hope your community will enjoy your site as well,” said David Dahl, a regional editor for the Globe.

So why Medford, Malden, and Melrose? Dahl said the Globe took into consideration readership response and advertising opportunities in determining in which communities to launch the sites.

“You’d be surprised people want these things,” said Dahl.

Dahl also called the three communities “compact and easily coverable.” He said they also looked at communities that have relationships with each other and as such the sites have been launched in clusters.

Medford’s site contains links to stories about schools, sports, real estate, discussion forums and also has a Medford Wiki, where readers are encouraged to contribute to the site. The site’s content comes from the Globe, boston.com, InsideMedford.com, and other news sources that publish stories about Medford.

Dahl envisions the site as sort of one-stop shopping for Medford news and information. The website compiles stories and content from a variety of news sources and blogs. He also hopes for a community of readers that will contribute to the site via blogs, the Wiki, and discussion threads.

According to Dahl, Travis Anderson will serve as a town correspondent and he will post blog items, cover events and also conduct outreach to encourage community members to contribute blog items, columns and photos to the site. Marcia Dick will serve as one of the site’s editors.