In the Dark Ages – about two years ago – newspaper companies with a healthy stable of smaller to medium size properties felt like they had the ultimate insurance policy. Perceived remoteness.
“It’ll be years before Google, Yahoo and the rest discover us,” was the line of thought, as they watched the metros they owned struggle with competition from new digital information sources.
It was “years” before the big guys discovered the smaller players. About two, in fact.
So much for “perceived remoteness.” Like the song says, it really is a small, small world.
When the big guys looked, they saw “remote” markets that weren’t that remote. Maybe suburban towns and cities that lost their zoned editions – and news-gathering capabilities at the same time – in reactive cost-cutting efforts by the metros. Perhaps they were still served by a community newspaper that believed print would carry them to the next generation, not yet plugged in to the need to compete digitally.
They also found cities of good-size population, a couple hours’ drive from big metro areas. And they found these papers making money. So maybe this was a good market after all, right? “Bird’s nest on the ground,” as a buddy of mine says.
What happened? A bunch of hyper-local companies jumped right in. There were as many different formulas as there were companies.
None of them caught hold in a big way. But that was two years ago – remember, the Dark Ages.
Now AOL is making a run at it, pumping $50 million into a company called Patch Media. Out of the blue I got a cold call from a recruiter, scouring LinkedIn for editor/business types in my city – Atlanta – where they will be rolling out many sites soon.
Clear from the beginning that I was happy and quiet busy work-wise, we nonetheless talked about their approach – in case I knew anyone (and I did, and passed along names).
Just like any good community newspaper, their staffers will live in the community they cover and be part of that community. They clearly understand that connection.
Their people will work hard, pound the pavement, file from coffee shops wth free Internet service and generally act like community newspaper employees. It won’t be easy.
You can find debate in several areas about whether Patch is just really efficient or runs a sweatshop. But when you run the sweatshop claim up against the newspaper industry – never been known for short hours and great pay – it becomes an academic debate.
There are plenty of out-of-work newspaper-types signing on, and good for them if that’s what they want.
This year Patch plans to launch “hundreds” of local web sites. The $50 million in expansion cash can be chewed up pretty quickly across a national network.
Bu regardless of whether Patch succeeds or not – and they seem to have a better shot than most that have come before – this ought to be one more of many, many shots fired across the bow of newspapers who think they don’t have to worry about that pesky ol’ web site.
Because Patch is not alone out there. Look for more on local from Yahoo! this year. Two years ago – Dark Ages again – who would have thought Yahoo! would be publishing a hard copy book – called “The Yahoo! Style Guide”? When you’re writing for the web, will you buy the Yahoo! book or AP book?
What will small and medium-sized newspapers do, faced with this bothersome development in an already troubling time?
Please don’t do what your metro kin did and wait for the bad times to pass.
And don’t blame AOL and Patch and the other local news wannabees. They see a market that they think is underserved digitally, so here they come. It’s called free enterprise.
Most smaller to medium-size newspapers still have a strong hand. They are profitable, respected in their communities, have the reporting resources and knowledge in place, not to mention outstanding local ad sales capabilities.
But are those papers paying attention to digital, focusing on their web sites, looking to grow them and increase revenue? Many are doing just that, and there are some tremendous web operations and products in medium and small markets.
In those markets, a tip of the pressman’s folding newsprint hat to the local newspaper.
In other markets, where the web site is of little interest or attention, don’t fret.
Soon, there will be a nice, community-focused web site in your market, either from a suddenly-alert newspaper or other media outlet. Or from someone like Patch.
Because it’s a small world after all.