GoLocal expands to Worcester market

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Noah R. Bombard

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Jan 4, 2012, 10:55:26 PM1/4/12
to Journalism That Matters
Where Patch few ambitiously through small suburban markets, GoLocal is expanding slowly through mid-sized markets. A smarter move, I think. 

http://behindtheheadlinesblog.com/2012/01/golocal-is-new-media-player-in-worcester/ 

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Noah R. Bombard
"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."
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Tish Grier

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Jan 5, 2012, 7:38:38 PM1/5/12
to Noah R. Bombard, Journalism That Matters
Thanks for forwarding this info Noah!  Reading the info in the About section, GoLocal looks like it has been logically thought out and has a reasonable business plan going for it.  I don't think it could have got that much VC money if it didn't.  Must also have a solid exit strategy too. 

Although I think the whole "compete with the local paper" thing isn't necessarily the way to go.....

I don't know but every time I looked at what Patch was/is doing, it seemed like a lot of "throw it on the wall and see if it sticks" kind of thing.  I know one town in California that has a very seasoned editor who's done hyperlocal, and that one will probably succeed.  Then there are others that were staffed primarily with who we might call "the enthusiastic"--who may or may not have been able to engage enough of the citizenry to keep things going. 

I have the sneaking suspicion that Patch will be folded into HufPo, which just purchased a piece of software called Localocracy (it was developed in Amherst, and I'm familiar with one of the VCs on that one)  that spurs "conversation" (supposedly)  I believe that this will be behind something called HuffPo Local.  The Patch folks who were successful may end up as part of HuffPo Local, or not.  HuffPo's been running a lot of "experiments" over the years, testing the boundaries to see how much reporting people are willing to do for no money.  

just a couple of thoughts on that....

Tish G.
 
From: Noah R. Bombard <moxi...@gmail.com>
To: Journalism That Matters <jtm...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 4, 2012 10:55 PM
Subject: {JTM} GoLocal expands to Worcester market
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Noah R. Bombard

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Jan 5, 2012, 7:54:05 PM1/5/12
to Tish Grier, Journalism That Matters
I think it was very well thought out. My feelings on Patch is that it was too ambitious -- looking to expand exponentially in small markets that possibly can't support it. GoLocal seems to be growing organically like all good things should -- establishing itself in a decently-sized market and then expanding to a new one. 

The Patch sites also vary widely, but in some of the local ones here there is a big emphasis on the kind of community news that I think just isn't very marketable. I pick on the Shrewsbury Patch page a little here: http://bit.ly/uFiXCO.

It just seems to me in today's very connected world the real value in journalism is its ability to dig up enterprise and investigative stories, not to publish what the senior center has for lunch tomorrow. 
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