CJR's Guide to Online News Startups

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Feb 24, 2012 12:04 PM
Patch (District of Columbia)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
The nation's capital is home to just one Patch. The site covers the ritzy neighborhood of Georgetown, which is home to the university of the same name. The site includes coverage of university news and events, developments on the ever-pressing issues of real estate and traffic, and an ongoing "Best-of" debate about Georgetown's most desirable cocktails. Though Georgetown Patch is alone...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:35 PM
Patch (Florida)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Patch expanded into Florida in late 2010, and currently has nineteen sites in the state. As an early state in the 2012 GOP primary and a battleground state in the general election, Florida fits nicely with Patch editor-in-chief Brian Farnham's goal (discussed with CJR last year) to involve Patch in 2012 election coverage, and with AOL's goal to cash in on political ad...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:47 PM
Patch (Georgia)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Patch moved to Georgia in 2010, and has since rolled out forty-three sites in the state. Some sites focus on entire cities, such as Athens or Marietta, while others stick to the Atlanta suburbs--a more common model for Patch sites nationwide. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860 sites in...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:54 PM
Patch (Illinois)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Illinois has one of the larger collections of Patch sites-fifty-nine in all. Not surprisingly, the sites are most prevalent in the Chicago suburbs. The state also includes two universities contributing to coverage through the "PatchU" program: Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and the Columbia College Chicago Journalism Department. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than...
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Feb 24, 2012 01:00 PM
Patch (Iowa)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Iowa is currently home to nine Patch sites, with one more launching soon. These nine sites were part of a push to populate Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina with Patches in time for the 2012 Republican primary/caucus season. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860 sites in twenty-two states plus the District...
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Feb 24, 2012 01:06 PM
Patch (Maryland)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
A relatively small state geographically, Maryland is home to a huge number of Patch sites. There are currently fifty-two live sites, with more in the works. Home to both Baltimore and D.C. suburbs, the state is a prime spot for Patch's strategy of targeting affluent, technologically savvy communities. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860...
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Feb 24, 2012 01:11 PM
Patch (Massachusetts)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Patch brought its business to Massachusetts in early 2010, launching sites in coverage in Marlborough, Sudbury, Wellesley, Newton, Quincy, Belmont, Bedford, Milton, Needham and Concord. Among its competitors at the time were CentralMassNews.com, and a host of print newspapers that also maintained online presences. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched...
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Feb 24, 2012 01:17 PM
Patch (Michigan)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Patch expanded into Michigan in 2010 as part of a push that included several other Midwestern states. The network has since launched a total of twenty-nine sites in the Great Lakes State, many in the Detroit suburbs.] Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860 sites in twenty-two states plus the District of Columbia....
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Feb 24, 2012 01:22 PM
Patch (Minnesota)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By AJ Hudson
Patch expanded into Minnesota in 2010 as part of a push that included several other Midwestern states. There are currently twenty-five individual Patch sites in Minnesota. Although sites are concentrated around the Twin Cities, coverage areas vary from urban areas like Southwest Minneapolis to suburbs like Richfield to slightly farther flung towns like Northfield. Read CJR's full...
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Feb 24, 2012 01:27 PM
Patch (Missouri)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Justin Yang
Patch expanded into Missouri in 2010 as part of a push that included several other Midwestern states. There are currently twenty-four individual Patch sites in Missouri, and the Missouri School of Journalism contributes to coverage of the state as part of the PatchU program. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:14 PM
Patch (New Hampshire)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Justin Yang
Patch launched in New Hampshire in June of 2011 in anticipation of the 2012 presidential election primaries. As Arianna Huffington, president of AOL Huffington Post Media Group, remarked, the expansion would put Patch "squarely on the front lines of the presidential campaign." Patch's initial New Hampshire launch consisted of ten communities: Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Exeter, Hampton-North Hampton, Merrimack, Nashua, Portsmouth, Salem, and Windham....
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Feb 24, 2012 12:20 PM
Patch (New Jersey)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Justin Yang
The Patch network's first sites were launched in New Jersey in September of 2009, in the cities of Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, and South Orange. Today, Patch operates sites in more than 80 New Jersey communities. New Jersey remains a "petri dish" for Patch to develop business ideas and strategies. In December 2011, Patch merged two sites together after concluding that the...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:28 PM
Patch (New York)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Lauren Kirchner
After the first three Patch sites launched in suburban New Jersey in 2009, an expansion into New York's Westchester County and Long Island communities wasn't far behind that same year. Today, New York is home to seventy-one Patch sites and counting. In addition to Patch's usual suburban targets, the network has also grown to include individual, geographically small but highly populated neighborhoods within the boroughs...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:22 PM
Patch (North Carolina)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Justin Yang
Patch currently has only one site in North Carolina. It serves the community of active duty soldiers, civilians, and Army families stationed at Fort Bragg, which is located north of Fayetteville. The base spreads across four counties and has a population of around 40,000, according to the 2010 U.S. census. The site launched in June 2011. AOL announced the launch of...
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Feb 24, 2012 12:26 PM
Patch (Ohio)

AOL's fast-growing hyperlocal network
By Justin Yang
Patch arrived in Ohio in 2010, launching twenty-four sites. According to a December 2010 story in Crain's Cleveland Business, the first three sites appeared in the Cleveland area, and Jean Dubail, former online editor of Cleveland's Plain Dealer, served as a regional editor during the launch. Read CJR's full profile of the Patch network here. Patch has launched more than 860...
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