Encino Patch and citizen journalism

Encino Patch is a year old and editor Lauren Rosenblum is leaving for another position within the parent company, AOL-Huffington Post.

I always wondered whether the Patch websites would survive once AOL came to terms with its losses. They have been bleeding red ink while trying to build a sufficient advertiser base, duplicating the trajectory of most small newspapers, which is what they have tried to be in their first year. But – interestingly - since the Huffington Post deal, they seem to have recognized that the local community isn’t that interested in news and social services served up like we are in high school, but they might be interested in ads. I clicked on Encino Patch again today and the home page is overloaded with real estate open houses and other display ads. Their new strategy is clear: they want to compete with Craigslist and other advertiser services, not the LA Times or the Daily News.

Maybe that is smart; maybe it isn’t, because the constant challenge for Patch is to stay relevant. How often do opportunities like the departure of Barnes & Noble come along to whip up an angry street protest and how often can we be terrorized by coyotes, crime invasions or thoughts of Chaz Bono?

Why don’t more Encino residents read Patch? Maybe there just isn’t that much stuff going on in Encino to merit a local website? The more interesting question, I think, is whether the concept of citizen or community journalism can ever work. Historically it never has. In truth, Encino Patch’s editorial content is written by advertisers and ex-journalists, but this is a corporate product designed never to ruffle the feathers of the powerful.

With Encino411, I have preferred a theme and resource-based approach that is not inherently limited to Encino (most of my traffic does come from “local” postings though, like Legado Encino and Encino Reservoir). Originally I tried enlisting other Encino residents – friends and neighbors - to write, for free of course. I was surprised to discover how strong inertia is, how few people can write good journalism and how terrified they are of making their thoughts public. They all bailed. OK, fine. As it costs me next to nothing to do, I will keep doing it.