Patched
By Mitch Berg
Half of the Minnesota “Patch” “hyperlocal news” sites are going to be closing or consolidating in the next few months:
Kevira Voegele, associate regional editor for Minnesota, emailed staffers over the weekend to inform them that 13 of the state’s 25 Patches would need to land a partner — a media organization that would assume some responsibility for their operations — or face closure within 60 days.
It’s a nationwide problem for AOL-owned Patch, which is closing or consolidating 300 of its 900 local websites coast to coast.
In Minnesota, the Patches slated for closure or consolidation failing a partnership are Apple Valley-Rosemount, Burnsville, Eden Prairie, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Inver Grove Heights, Lake Minnetonka, Mendota Heights, Plymouth, Roseville, Shakopee and Southwest Minneapolis.
Sites that will continue to operate as usual include Eagan, Edina, Lakeville, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Northfield, Oakdale, Richfield, Stillwater, St. Louis Park, St. Michael and Woodbury.
In my experience, the Patch chain – at least in Minnesota – was just as sclerotic and left-biased as of the local newspapers that they couldn’t quite replace.
August 22nd, 2013 at 6:36 pm
Well, you’re several steps ahead of me… I’d never even heard of this “Patch” thing.
August 22nd, 2013 at 7:00 pm
I was surprised to learn that our local Patch was part of a nationwide affiliation, let alone associated with AOL.
Ours used to pretty much cover crime stories by cutting and pasting directly from the official criminal complaint document related to the event. In some sexually related cases the wording was extremely graphic. In one case, since it was local, it was pretty easy to figure out who was sodomized and beaten by her named suspect husband.
The endeavor struck me more as the product of some second-year journalism students or of a couple of empty-nester sisters-in-law than the work of an organization which should know better. If done correctly, I’d think that the concept could have been quite successful.
Sorry to see them go right now. They were beginning to get “political.” That aspect had some pretty solid humor potential.