[RP TownTalk] Layoffs Begin As AOL Looks To Close Or Sell 400 Patch Sites

[Dwight Holmes]

Wow. Hope our local ones survive.  It's a very tough environment in which
to keep local news sites profitable.

On Wed, Aug 14, 2013 at 11:10 PM, Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>wrote:

> This makes me sad. I really love our local Patch reporters, especially
> Jenni Pompi.
>
>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/08/09/layoffs-begin-as-aol-looks-to-close-or-sell-400-patch-sites/
>
> Layoffs Begin As AOL Looks To Close Or Sell 400 Patch Sites
>
> Jeff Bercovici, Forbes Staff
> MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
> 8/09/2013 @ 2:51PM
>
> The great Patch purge will be even bloodier than promised.
>
> Out of the more than 900 Patch sites AOL operates nationwide, only about
> 500 will remain under the corporate umbrella as owned-and-operated
> properties, CEO Tim Armstrong told employees of the local news network on a
> conference call Friday morning, according to an account published by Jim
> Romenesko. That’s somewhat more severe than the cull Armstrong previewed
> for investors on Wednesday, when he said about one-third of the sites were
> considered to be underperforming and would be closed, sold or handed over
> to a partner.
>
> Armstrong vowed to take a more active role in managing the remaining
> Patches, which, he said, were suffering from a lack of “leadership with a
> capital ‘L.’” The folks who he apparently considers at fault for the
> leadership vacuum, Patch CEO Steve Kalin and chief content officer Rachel
> Feddersen, were among the first to be let go, according to Business
> Insider. Kalin will be replaced by Bud Rosenthal, reports Mediabistro.
>
> In a truly strange turn of events, Armstrong reportedly terminated another
> senior Patch employee, creative director Abel Lenz, in the midst of this
> morning’s conference call, in the hearing of all Patch staffers. Lenz, who
> was in the room with Armstrong, tried to take a photo of the
> proceedings.According to Romenesko, Armstrong cut him off, saying, “Abel,
> put that camera down. You’re fired.”
>
> (Two years ago, in the midst of another mass layoff of AOL editorial
> employees, someone leaked a photo to me of the jarringly festive room where
> the termination meetings were being conducted. So at least Armstrong
> managed to avoid a repeat of that episode.)
>
> Reports vary for the number of Patch staffers who will be let go as a
> result of the downsizing. I’m told about 300 will be laid off this week,
> with more following, presumably, if Armstrong’s prediction that local
> newspapers will be eager to partner with AOL on many of the money-losing
> sites proves unfounded.
>
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