Say what you like about Rupert Murdoch (and in the aftermath of the phone-hacking scandal, people often do) there’s no denying that his decisions continue to influence the world of media business. A week after News Corp announced that it is to separate his publishing interests from its other businesses, analysts have begun to question whether other media conglomerates ought to follow suit. Today’s Financial Times reports that questions are being asked as to whether Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) would benefit from taking similar action.

The Daily Mail & General Trust-owned Local People network plans to double the number of websites in its network and expand its reach, MediaWeek.co.uk reported today.

These hyperlocal UK websites are aimed at boosting better interaction in small communities by allowing users to create profiles, rate and review local businesses, upload images and text, form groups and message each other. "Our focus is providing small businesses a way of reaching a really local audience, Roland Bryan, managing director of Local People, told PressGazette.co.uk. "The targeted nature of our sites means that our advertisers can achieve this with low wastage."

This move follows the recent redesign and rollout of some of the local people websites like Bideford People, Falmouth People and Clifton People, with a simpler homepage and integration of Twitter-style news feeds facilitating users to post comments, reviews, reply to comments and rate content, MediaWeek reported. With strong infrastructural support to grow to 1,000 websites and multi-language capability, the local community website plans to build its brand in the coming months through a combination of local marketing events and social media engagement, along with digital marketing efforts and brand campaigns.