Patch.com was hailed as the future of local media when it first launched. It set the bar for a hyperlocal digital shift when the media industry was struggling to adapt to both an economic downturn and a major move to digital platforms.
Since Patch’s 2009 debut, the number of its sites has grown by the hundreds year to year, culminating in over 900-plus sites, covering neighborhoods and communities trailing down the East Coast to South Carolina, and through the Northwest into Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and finally west to Washington and California. Looking back, in September 2010 alone Patch launched 63 sites in Illinois, California, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
But what seems too good to be true often is. Patch’s growth started to trail off last year when AOL started to consolidate sites and institute layoffs. This past October, Patch suffered even more, letting go approximately 450 of its employees and leaving hundreds of sites unmanned.
Then things got worse. AOL CEO Tim Armstrong sent out an end-of-year email to the company without mentioning Patch at all, sending employees into a panic, reported Romenesko.com.
A report earlier this week clarified the omission. AOL has entered into a joint venture giving majority ownership of Patch to Hale Global, a New York investment firm. According to FoxBusiness.com, the firm will also have full operational control of Patch.
Over the last year Armstrong made several claims, including that Patch would be profitable by the end of 2013. When this prediction looked as if it wasn’t going pan out, staff were cut loose, and Armstrong spoke of future partnerships. But an investment firm isn’t likely what was expected. Even so, a new direction for the hyperlocal network of sites has been a long time coming given that Patch lost its sparkle some time ago.
“The companies are committed to re-launching Patch as an efficient platform that allows citizens and businesses to create and share locally-themed news and content — not just with those in their own communities but to the wider world,” a press release announcing the venture said.
What this means is unclear, but rumors claim that remaining Patch staff may be dismissed. One thing’s for sure: 2013 was the last of Patch.com as we know it. The future of hyperlocal will have to look elsewhere for a shiny new model.
