Patch Media

History

Patch was founded by then-president of Google Americas operations Tim Armstrong, Warren Webster and Jon Brod in 2007 after Armstrong said he found a dearth of online information on his home-neighborhood of Riverside, Connecticut.{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/technology/start-ups/13hyperlocal.html

The acquisition occurred on June 11, 2009.{{cite web|url= http://corp.aol.com/press-releases/2009/06/aol-acquires-two-local-services-patch-and-going|title= AOL Acquires Two Local Services, Patch and Going|first= Chris |last= Savarese|publisher=AOL.com|date= June 11, 2009 |access-date= February 11, 2010}} AOL paid an estimated $7 million in cash for the news platform as part of its effort to reinvent itself as a content provider beyond its legacy dial-up Internet business. AOL, which split from Time Warner in late 2009, announced in 2010 it would be investing $50 million or more into the startup of the Patch.com network. As part of the acquisition Brod became President of AOL Ventures, Local & Mapping, and Warren Webster became president of Patch.

Following the acquisition, Patch began a period of rapid expansion, becoming one of the largest employers of professional journalists in the US at the time. The company grew from 46 markets to over 400 in 2010, and by early 2011 The New York Times reported that it was "finding progress where others have failed", and had grown to 800 communities. In 2011, Patch acquired hyperlocal news aggregator Outside.in from investors including Union Square Ventures and others, integrating the technology into the Patch platform.

In 2013, Patch was spun out of AOL as a joint venture with Hale Global. In January 2014, the new owners announced layoffs of 400 journalists and other employees.

In February 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Patch had 23 million users, was profitable, and was expanding into new territories. In 2018, Patch completed its third profitable year in a row, attracting an average of 23.5 million unique visitors monthly. Patch employs nearly 150 people, including 110 full-time reporters, many from the nation's leading newsrooms.

Alison Bernstein was named CEO in September 2019, and later transitioned to the company's board. Rob Cain, formerly of Omron Adept, became Patch's CEO in November 2020. Charles Hale informed Recode in 2019 that his network of 1,200-plus hyperlocal news sites was generating more than $20 million in annual ad revenue, without a paywall.

References

References

1. Kaufman, Leslie. (January 15, 2014). "AOL Finds a Partner to Run Its Troubled Patch Division". [[The New York Times]].
2. (2022-07-14). "Patch Terms of Use". Patch Media.
3. "All Patch Locations by State". Patch Media.
4. Hardy, Quentin. (17 August 2010). "AOL's plan to own your neighborhood".
5. Moses, Lucia. (2018-10-16). "How profitable Patch is automating ad buying".
6. (2018-12-26). "How 'hyperlocal' news app Patch is trying to regain trust in media".
7. Schonfeld, Erick. (2009-06-11). "AOL Buys Local Startups Going And Patch (And CEO Tim Armstrong Brings an Investment In-House)". [[TechCrunch]].
8. McCarthy, Caroline. (June 11, 2009). "AOL thinks local, acquires Patch and Going". [[CNET.com]].
9. (August 16, 2010). "AOL's Patch plans 500 local sites by end of 2010".
10. (May 12, 2010). "Jon Brod". AOL.com.
11. Tartakoff, Joseph. (2010-08-17). "AOL's Patch aims to quintuple in size by year-end".
12. Kopytoff, Verne G.. (2011-01-16). "AOL Bets on Hyperlocal News, Finding Progress Where Many Have Failed". [[The New York Times]].
13. Rao, Leena. (2011-03-04). "Confirmed: AOL's Patch Buys Hyperlocal News Site Outside.In". [[TechCrunch]].
14. (January 15, 2014). "AOL Shifts Patch to Joint Venture with Hale Global".
15. (January 29, 2014). "Patch Hit With Sweeping Layoffs As New Owner Hale Global Restructures".
16. Marshall, Jack. (2016-02-02). "Patch Rebounds After Split From AOL". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
17. "'Patch' Celebrates Profitability, Explores AI".
18. (2019-09-16). "An Update From Patch".
19. "About Patch".
20. Kafka, Peter. (2019-02-11). "The alternative to your dying local paper is written by one person, a robot, and you".