Somebody in Framingham doesn't like Patch

By adamg on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 9:41am

Fake Patch, from the folks behind one of the area's oldest local sites.

Neighborhoods:

Framingham

Topics:

Media

Free tagging:

media

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Comments

I'm glad they ignored my city

By mediaseth on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 1:05pm.

Patch is in Salem, Swampscott, but not Lynn. There are several of us in Lynn doing more with hyperlocal content completely on our own and for free, than Patch does with their over-eager-grateful-to-work-for-anything staffers in their respective communities. But I can't blame the young kids and between-jobs older professionals who do work for them. It's something.

All anyone worried about Patch has to say is, "Patch is AOL!" It pretty much deflates the effort.

A bigger concern is ING's recent purchase of the JP Gazette. If they dumb down the Gazette to fit their mold, Patch may have half a chance over there.

The more local competition, the better

By Ron Newman on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 1:28pm.

Somerville now has five online news operations: Wicked Local/Journal, News, Post, Patch, and Boston.com/Somerville. Not to mention the crowd-sourced Somerville Voices and Davis Square LiveJournal and Courtney O'Keefe's Ward 5 Online. (which often covers news beyond just that ward). The result is much more and better news coverage than when we relied only on the Journal.

I generally agree

By mediaseth on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 1:53pm.

And I think we can compete very well with Patch if they were to come into Lynn. I just question whether they can establish the street cred necessary and whether or not what they're really about is some kind of info-tainment. I subscribe via FB to two local Patches and the only stories plugged there tend to be sourced from Police Blotters with Onion-esque headlines. Maybe they do more important work in other communities.

Somerville is a bit of a stand-out when it comes to civic engagement. I'm willing to bet it has a more engaged and outspoken pool of online readers than Framingham (no offense to Framingham), who probably check in at several local sources, if not all of them..just an un-scientific hunch. It has as many options as a result.

And it's only healthy if it is competition. If they start feeding off of each other and echo'ing each other, it could have a negative effect in that some local issues will be blown out of proportion in relation to others..just like in national media.

i think more online content only helps...

By bandit on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 6:08pm.

since i left the 'ville, i am desperate for online news sources. only we don't have them here, and i'm only 25 miles outside the city. my wicked local site, where it technically exists, actually brings me 100% news from the next town over. my local paper (a free weekly) isn't online. and the boston globe could care less about us unless it's about some Big Crime.

if you have choices, then people can make the choice that works for them. for example, personally i loathe the herald. but it has content that the boston globe doesn't have. and if i want a quick and dirty way to look up another state employees salary, they're the people i turn to. and it's always nice to know what the other side is saying about the topics i do care about ;)

i am not sure street cred is all that important. it smacks of hipster problems (sorry seth, i actually know you're no hipster). if there is a market for info-taintment, so be it. it won't edge out real hyperlocal news.

You should start a site if there isn't one.

By mediaseth on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 7:09pm.

Hi Bandit :)

The Lynn Item has a site and I read it daily, but it doesn't have much in the way of useful event listings for arts, nightlife, etc.. So, I started LynnHappens before I actually knew what I was doing and I'm still figuring it out along the way.. It could be a lot better, but I have a day job, other jobs, other things... Although, it's kind of amazing what's possible with one person and wordpress..connect it to FB and you're on the same playing field as Patch. I get a lot more views than the lack of comments suggest - enough at this point, to consider real ads. I just suck at sales.

I started by complaining, but realized there was only one way it was going to happen.. kind of how I get myself into all sorts of 'trouble' around here. :)

hiya!

By bandit on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 3:45pm.

i think it's okay to suck at sales... not everything needs to be about commerce. sometimes it's okay just to have something popular and awesome.

and i won't be starting a stow, ma site anytime soon. i can't even find time or energy to update my blog, let alone anything relevant. and i am one of the last few remaining people *not* on facebook.

140 characters on twitter is about all i seem to be able to keep up on ;)

Community newspapers in

By anon on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 1:22pm.

Community newspapers in Massachusetts have taken advantage of their reporters for years. Patch demands a lot of its editorial staff, but at least it pays them well.