Comments on: Altadena Blogger Tells AOL’s Patch to Shove It

By: Becca

Becca — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:23:02 +0000

The Patch is invading our village (yeah, it’s really called a “village”) right now. It will be interesting to see how much traction they get. We already have two newspapers, the Chicago Tribune has a hyperlocal site that allows for much of the same functionality. And one of our two local papers is adding a user-generated news website in the months to come. It’s an all out hyperlocal turf war right now and I can’t help but wonder if there’s enough news to go around!

If the Patch approached me, I don’t think I would be interested because I like doing my own thing and I like the freedom of posting what I want, when I want without the pressure of deadlines and expectations. Then again, my site is very similar so they probably would see me as competition although I don’t see it that way because I’m not a journalist so reporting just the facts isn’t my main goal. As a blogger, I freely share my opinions and perspectives on the news around town and I think that’s why people enjoy my site.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:20:17 +0000

Thx for commenting, Tim – appreciate it. I’m curious about one thing you’re saying both here and, I think, on your blog: you wouldn’t have been able to have community collaboration with Patch. Is that true? Do they have specific rules against inviting reader ideas and feedback, or is it that the platform is too restrictive to do things differently?

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:18:23 +0000

Hey Vince — there are already a number of partnerships between traditional media and local online news sites. This is happening across the country. You might browse through the INDUSTRY category archives here, or maybe do a search up above for “seattle times”, which I think is the one I’ve written about the most. Hope this helps.

By: Vince Veselosky

Vince Veselosky — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 01:49:02 +0000

I don’t know about Patch, maybe he’s right to turn them down. But I have to think there is some room for mutually beneficial partnerships between mass media and local media. What form those partnerships will take, I don’t yet know. Thoughts?

By: Timothy Rutt

Timothy Rutt — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:46:49 +0000

I’m afraid “not interested” is not the same thing as “shove it,” so as the party involved, I really can’t endorse your headline. I would never tell anyone “shove it” in a professional discussion, and I certainly didn’t tell Patch that.

But I do endorse your idea that hyperlocal definitely works when it’s ground-up. You’re working for the readers, and they have made so many suggestions — from story ideas to preferred typeface — that have added so much value to this news site. In a Patch situation, i would never be able to have such community collaboration, and that was one of my objections to it.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:55:45 +0000

Hey Ryan – a few weeks ago, I linked to this blog post:

http://blog.fourcher.net/2010/05/patchcom-revenue-model-makes-no-sense.html

It says that Patch is paying a Manhattan Beach (CA) blogger between $38k and $45k per year.

By: Ryan Kuder

Ryan Kuder — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:42:27 +0000

I’d be curious to know what the going rate for a hyperlocal blog is. There’s a fine line between keepin’ it real and paying for the kids to go to college.