Patch is a USA website covering National News.
Patch is a group of 1200 local news and information websites offering "hyperlocal journalism" -- community-specific news from local editors, writers, photographers and videographers who live in or near the communities they serve. In addition to local journalism, Patch is a platform for community members to comment on stories, share their opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar.
The former CEO of AOL, Tim Armstrong, developed Patch with Jon Brod beginning in 2007. AOL acquired the company for $7 million after Armstrong became AOL's CEO. In January 2014, AOL sold a majority interest in Patch to Hale Global, a private equity company controlled by Charles Hale.
This website is owned by Hale Global.
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Patch Sex Offender Maps: Big on Facebook! Patch: Speedy and Superficial
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-- Each Halloween, many of Patch's 1,200 "hyperlocal" news sites run a list or a map of data from the state-level sex offender registry. With children heading out into darkening streets, the stories begin with a prompt to "take inventory of who is living in your neighborhood."
Laura Hazard Owen wrote the story at Nieman Lab on October 31, 2019:
For Patch, local sex offender maps are a Halloween tradition
Posted by Mondo Times editors, Boulder, Colorado USA, November 1, 2019
-- The collection of 1,200 "hyperlocal" websites called Patch seems to envision itself as the future of local news, with local newspapers continuing their downward spiral to oblivion.
Charles Hale, who bought the business from AOL (now part of Verizon Communications) in 2014, says Patch is turning a profit, with over $20 million in annual ad revenue. That means each Patch...
-- September 10, 2014: The hyperlocal news service called Patch is trying to make a comeback. In January 2014, AOL sold a majority stake in the service to private equity firm Hale Global. Hale quickly fired most of the Patch news staff. Maybe machines can do better.
Posted by Mondo Times editors, Boulder, Colorado USA, September 10, 2014
-- January 17, 2013: Most of AOL's "hyperlocal" news sites are losing money, and Patch president Warren Webster thinks the solution is to offer less news.
In the story Patch aims for profitability, shifts platforms, published by the Columbia Journalism Review on January 15, Kira Goldenburg wrote that "Patch, founded in 2007, has long gotten negative coverage, with critics alleging that its...
-- Using a combination of aggregation and original content, Dichtbij is attempting to build a sustainable business. And the network seems to be making good progress.
That's according to In the Netherlands, a Patch-like hyperlocal network is making money and nearing profit, published June 7, 2012 by the Nieman Journalism Lab:
"The Netherlands' Dichtbij -- "close to me" in Dutch -- is a hyperlocal news...Also See:
USA National News Media
Patch website