Former Patch staffers, knowledgeable about the communities they cover, are launching their own news sites around the country, focusing on improving the Patch model. Diana Marszalek explains how these sites are becoming solid sources of community news.
Patch Shows Flaws In The Hyperlocal Model
Ken Doctor on lessons from the crumbling of AOL’s Patch: “The lesson now dawning on publishers worldwide is that their reliance on advertising as the major support of their news businesses is all but over. As print revenue’s decline has accelerated, growing digital ad revenue is increasingly tough as well.”
WISN Partners With Patch For Hyper-Local
As Milwaukee television stations vie for a greater share of an ever-shrinking local news audience, Hearst-owned ABC affiliate WISN has decided to go hyper-local under a new partnership with Patch.com.
Patch’s Webster Predicts Profit In Late 2013
In an exclusive interview with NetNewsCheck, Patch President Warren Webster says the hyperlocal network is on a course to profitability in 2013. With record revenue and traffic numbers posted for May, Patch looks as though it is on track to meet that goal. The Patch model is sustainable, Webster says, “The bottom line is … we feel like it’s working.”
Exclusives
Patch.com, a network of small-town news sites owned by AOL Inc., has emerged at the center of a tug of war over the Internet company’s future. The high cost of running the local news sites has fueled a campaign by dissident investor Starboard Value LP against AOL CEO Tim Armstrong’s strategy of investing heavily in online content.
Patch, NY’s WPIX Form Content Partnership
The New York Tribune CW affiliate will feature the AOL’s hyperlocal news network’s content on its daily newscasts during new “Patch on PIX” segments.
Although he argues that Patch gets a bad rap in the media, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong says that his company is making a “valuable” investment with the local media project.
Patch Ramps Up Hyperlocal Gamble
The AOL-owned network of more than 800 sites upped the ante last week by adding thousands of unpaid bloggers to its editorial engine. Patch President Warren Webster says he’s eyeing a near-future map of Patch communities with very few blank spaces in between. Claiming that early viewership metrics are exceeding expectations, Webster also says that mobile platforms will play a key role in Patch’s continued growth.
Ken Doctor on lessons from the crumbling of AOL’s Patch: “The lesson now dawning on publishers worldwide is that their reliance on advertising as the major support of their news businesses is all but over. As print revenue’s decline has accelerated, growing digital ad revenue is increasingly tough as well.”
