Weekly News Recap: Patch’s Editor-In-Chief Steps Down
AOL’s much-discussed hyperlocal network Patch is in the midst of changes at the top of its masthead. Editor-in-Chief Brian Farnham, who had been with the company for four years, announced during a conference call this week that he would be leaving. Here’s a look at some of the coverage of Farnham’s departure.
EIC Brian Farnham Leaving Patch to Explore ‘Other Startup Opportunities’
Patch editor-in-chief Brian Farnham has announced he is leaving the AOL network of hyperlocal sites after four years on the job. A Patch spokesperson said the move was “100%” Farnham’s decision. Rachel Fishman Feddersen, who joined Patch as chief content officer in February, will now fully take over the editorial side of the operation…
Arlington Hyperlocal Picks Its Own Patch, Turns a Profit
Scott Brodbeck, the editor of hyperlocal ARLnow.com (Arlington, Va.), which is part of the “authentically local” movement, claims he has a steady thrum of profitable traffic, and an empathy-bordering-on-sympathy for his competition (read: Patch). I thought it would be worthwhile to dig into this apparent and positive anomaly…
HuffPo Harnesses Patch Hyperlocals for Bin Laden News
In the months since AOL bought The Huffington Post, the company’s execs have talked a number of times about plans to incorporate coverage from Patch’s network of hyperlocal sites into HuffPo’s national report. Arianna Huffington herself recently said she expects Patch will be a key element of HuffPo’s coverage of the 2012 presidential election, and Patch local reports from California were recently used in stories about the Japanese tsunami. But last night we really saw that collaboration in action, as HuffPo drew on Patch’s network to flesh out out its coverage with hyperlocal reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden…
Ex-Patch EIC: Journatic Illustrates Cost/Quality Issue in Hyperlocal
If I were to prescribe Journatic a fix for this recent ailment (beyond, you know, not faking bylines anymore), it would be to show a real investment in journalism, in all senses of that word. We get that you’re “-atic” — cost savvy and operationally slick. How bout showing everyone you can also be “Journo”, and slow down and do some meaningful work? It might be money well spent…