Patch Changes Ownership, Lays Off Staff

By: Jeremy J. Ly | @JeremyJly

Same email news from Patch every day. Less new stories on the Patch. It may be because of the AOL sale to Hale Global, a technology investment firm. 

Did Patch not report on its own sale and inform the readers?

Looks like Patch has trimmed its workforce in half and is attempting to make Patch profitable. 

Many of us who follow the news industry know it is an industry in major transition. Advertisers have been moving away away from traditional newspapers for more than a decade as readership is down.  

Many newspapers closed up shop over the last decade and check out Newspaper Death Watch, a site that "chronicles the decline and rebirth of journalism."

AOL made a bet they could capitalize on the changing landscape. They missed the mark a little. Never really able to turn a profit in the hyperlocal news space.

Here are a few stories from around the web that explains AOL selling its majority ownership in Patch to an investment firm:

USA Today story: AOL Sells Patch to Tech Investment Firm

An interview with the CEO of the tech firm buying Patch

Finally,

More background and AOL statement to its employees about the sale of Patch