When AOL CEO Tim Armstrong interrupted his own conference call, on which he was informing employees of Patch blogs around the country about their fates, to fire someone for recording the call, he turned an important moment in the world of hyperlocal news reporting into a teachable moment in personnel management. But that hasn’t stopped many media watchers from speculating on the fate of both Patch and the phenomenon of local reporting largely.
Do you follow any local blogs or Twitter feeds that give you news about your town or neighborhood that larger news reporting agencies simply ignore? Does AOL’s closing of hundreds of Patch offices signal a failure of local reporting?
Guests:
Ken Doctor, media analyst for newsonomics.com and the author of “Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get” (St Martin Press, 2010)
Alex Thompson, publisher and editor of Venice311.org