The End of An Era for Local Journalism

Sadly, given the developments announced last week in association with the Patch media franchise, it appears that the end is near.  After several years of attempting to make the Patch concept profitable, corporate owner AOL sold a majority stake in the enterprise to Hale Global, an investment firm that specializes in turning around technology-based ventures.  In turn, Hale has announced a dramatic series of staff reductions that undoubtedly will diminish the reach and scope of Patch as a source of true home-grown news.

As of now it is unknown what precisely will happen to Patch's over 900 local news websites.  In light of media reports indicating that roughly two-thirds of Patch's remaining 450 employees were let go last week, it seems practically impossible that all local sites could be maintained -- certainly not in the same format that readers have come to know.

As regular readers are aware, I have had the pleasure of writing for the Perry Hall Patch as a columnist since its inception in September 2010.  I have always viewed this as a wonderful opportunity to write about topics and issues that both interest me, and hopefully interested residents of Perry Hall as well.  The site provided a good forum for sharing about some of the many good things that occur in and around our community. 

Certainly the credit for how Perry Hall Patch grew into a well-regarded local news source must go to founding editor Emily Kimball.  As Fifth District Baltimore County Councilman David Marks noted in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, "I think their coverage really helped bring the community together."  In watching Emily at work -- and seeing the significant stream of unique content that she provided through Perry Hall Patch -- I wasn't really sure if she ever got any sleep.  Her dedication, integrity, and community spirit were forces to be reckoned with when it came to journalism.

The great thing about the Patch model broadly was that so many other communities nearby, like Towson, Parkville/Carney, Dundalk, Bel Air, and a host of others, had their own great local editors just like Emily Kimball.  Indeed, here in Perry Hall, Emily was succeeded by talented journalists in their own right who tried to stay true to her vision.  If in its new iteration, Patch loses these essential local connections then I firmly believe that the magic will be truly gone, so to speak. 

Having a media source that is actually run by someone who is a product of the local community is an invaluable resource.  With fewer people at work, it is inevitable that some significant number of Patch sites with either cease to exist completely, or be consolidated within more regionally-based sites covering a much larger geographic area.  The larger these sites ultimately become, the further away the entire enterprise will move from the original Patch concept.

I suspect that over the next several weeks the many communities served by existing Patches will find out exactly what direction their local site is destined to move toward.  We here in Perry Hall can only hope that there will still be a viable way for all of us to keep up with local news, and perhaps even to share news of our own.  If not, then I know many folks will miss what the Perry Hall Patch was able to provide over the last few years.