Done With Patch

I first met Rick Nagel a few years back when he was editor of the Beacon. Rick was planning on introducing a new feature called Common Sense. It would be a regular column that would bring a set of fresh perspectives on local people and issues from a rotating group of regular contributors. In some respects Common Sense was like Patch in that it focused on local stories. But many of those stories also evoked common, universal themes. There were a lot of good columns that appeared in Common Sense. I wish I’d written many of them. But at least I had a chance thanks to Rick. 

Rick set the tone and the expectations for those columns. Not with heavy-handed tactics that people often associate with newspaper editors, but with the gentle guidance of a mentor and teacher. A lot of us were not trained journalists and Rick patiently introduced us to the rules that newspapermen have lived by since cavemen chipped the first news stories on stone tablets. And when we occasionally transgressed those rules, he reminded us rather than reprimanded us. 

When the Geneva Patch started up almost four years ago, I had my doubts it would succeed. There’s a lot of competition in the on-line news business and the idea of a hyper-local news outlet was untested. But if anyone could make it a success, I knew Rick could. Not only did he have the editorial skills, but he had the dedication, the experience and the love of this community to make it work. He also had a group of talented writers that included Beth Bales, Kurt Wehrmeister, and Jeff Ward. But Rick was the glue that held this together, even as the experiment began to falter. I can’t even begin to imagine the staggering amount of time and effort he must have given to keep things going. But in the end it wasn’t enough, at least in the eyes of the new owners. 

Rick was one of the hundreds of local Patch editors let go the other day as Patch once again tries to reinvent itself under new ownership. AOL sold Patch earlier this month to Hale Global, a company that supposedly specializes in turnarounds. I don’t know what direction the new company will take. However, Rick will no longer be our local editor. I suspect that the community web sites will be taken over by regional editors and many of the stories will begin to take on a regional flavor. There will still be local news stories, but I can’t imagine anyone who will provide the distinctive style and approach, or the love of Geneva, that Rick has provided. 

You may have noticed a number of generic stories and posts creeping into what was once promised to be a “hyper-local” view of the news. There are also an increasing number of posts that are geared toward marketing products or services. I have talked to a number of people who have given up reading Patch for various reasons and I can’t imagine whatever direction the new company takes, bringing those readers back. Corporate decisions will drive what appears on the pages of Patch and these decisions will not be tempered with the knowledge and instincts of a local editor, especially someone of the caliber of Rick Nagel. 

Rick characteristically encourages people to stick with Patch. He says on the Facebook page:

"Thank you to the Geneva community for all your support and to AOL and Patch for creating this ambitious, hyper-local community portal. Geneva Patch will continue, and hopefully in good health and good hands. Be sure to participate. This medium is best when the community is actively involved."

It's no surprise that Rick accepted this situation with his usual grace and class. However, with the departure of Rick Nagel, so too goes the heart and soul of the Geneva Patch. It was Rick who made this site uniquely Geneva. Without him at the helm, the Geneva Patch will be just one of many small community news sites undistinguishable from all of the other Patch sites except for the name of our town in the banner. 

So despite Rick’s advice to the contrary, I can’t really see the value of continuing to participate in this failed experiment. It’s been fun, but I’m done blogging on Patch. I wish Rick and Paula the best in this next phase of their lives and I’m sure that I echo the sentiments of many Genevans when I say that the Geneva Patch will not and cannot be the same without him.