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WikioThe hyperlocal news site Patch.com is expanding from its base in Essex County to three upscale Union County communities.
Patch.com announced today that it would launch community web sites in Westfield, Scotch Plains and Summit.
The move comes only a few months after the startup lanched sites in the Essex County communities of South Orange, Maplewood and Milburn.
Patch's expansion into Union County intensifies the competition among entrepeneurial journalists for one of the state's wealthiest and most educated audiences.
The Alternative Press, which launched in Oct. 2008, operates sites in Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Summit, Milburn, Livingston with plans to start a site for Madison in April. In addition, the New York Times started a blog called The Local that covers Maplewood, South Orange and Millburn.
The sites are operating on turf that was once considered the core circulation area of The Star-Ledger, which last year reduced it's newsroom by 151 reporters, editors and newsroom staff through voluntary buyouts. It's local newsgathering operation was severely scaled back. (Full disclosure: The author of this article was one of the 151 that took the buyout and was in charge of the Essex County news gathering operation.)
Michael Shapiro, a New York City lawyer who founded The Alternative Press, welcomed the competition.
"Competition is a good thing," Shapiro said. "It will cause each of us to continue to work that much harder to provide the highest quality of news and information to our readers. In the end, the winners are our residents who now have several wonderful sources for their local news. As with national news where most people have more than one source they read and watch, residents should use both of our sites to their advantage. In the end, everyone wins."
Shapiro said his advantage over sites like the Patch and New York Times is the passion that he and his contributors bring to the Alternative Press.
Shaprio said there are several features on his site that sets it apart from the others.
"Our business directory includes the businesses of all of the towns we cover rather than a single town, enabling local businesses to attract customers from all over the area and not just their own town," Shapiro said.
Patch -- whose advisors include Jeff Jarvis, a City University of New York journalism professor and new media guru -- believes its advantage is its proprietary technology platform. Jarvis also served as a consultant to nj.com, the online news arm of The Star-Ledger and other Newhouse papers in New Jersey.
"Users will have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories; share their opinions; post photos, videos and announcements; and even add events to the community calendar," the company said in a statement. "Each site has its own editor -- a professional journalist dedicated to the community -- and a team of contributors to provide everything from reports on high school sports and city government to coverage of events and interviews with members of the community."
In an effort to show its committment to the community, Patch said it has two initiatives that helps residents get involved in their communities. One is a section on the site that helps local charities and volunteers find each other. The other is a program called "Give 5," in which Patch dedicates five percent of its ad inventory as free advertising space for charitable organizations while its staff donates five days each year to volunteer activities in the community.
