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AOL's Patch Launches 2 San Gabriel Valley News Websites
Altadena intro video
Love 'em or hate 'em, AOL's push for hyper local news took two more steps this week in Southern California. More specifically, Patch.com launched websites in the unincorporated community of Altadena and the city of South Pasadena. Behind the two sites are editors with masters degrees in journalism.
Altadena Patch Editor Dan Abendschein went to USC and earned a named for himself locally at the Pasadena Star-News. Interesting stories on his site this week have ranged from the vision for a comprehensive hiking/biking/recreational trail system (will you someday be able to bike from the San Gabriel Mountains to Long Beach?) to Christmas Tree Lane, a state historical site.
South Pasadena video intro
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Over at South Pasadena Patch, Editor Sonia Narang, a UC Berkeley journalism graduate, is a San Gabriel Valley native and employs her filming skills for stories. Recent stories of hers include a profile of the classic Fair Oaks Soda Fountain and one about a complaint lodged against the city council that's being looked into by the District Attorney's office.
The San Gabriel Valley also saw the launch of a completely different hyper local news outlet. Alhambra Source, a project in collaboration with USC, serves the underserved community in three languages.
Patch has been under the watchful eye by media critics and locally by the LA Weekly, which has been following cases of plagiarism. Others have expressed concerns about the plethora of sites popping up around the region, comparing it to Walmart.
Last month, the company launched its first websites within Los Angeles city limits: Venice, Studio City, Chatsworth and Encino.
Future neighborhoods and cities around L.A. County that will soon see a Patch include Eagle Rock, North Hollywood/Toluca Lake, Westwood/Century City, La Canada-Flintridge, Marina Del Rey, Rancho Palos Verdes, Montrose and Monrovia. In Orange County, Orange County will get websites in Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest and Newport Beach.
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