Oconee County Facing Possible Big Changes In Media Landscape

The Oconee County media scene could change dramatically as early as Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reported last Friday that AOL, the owner of the Oconee Patch web site, plans to close or find partners for 400 of its 900 sites. The Georgia sites, including this one, could be on the list of those cut.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the closings are expected to be announced internally as early as Thursday or Friday. The story focused on an apology for an awkward firing at Patch last Friday.

Somewhat less dramatic is the change taking place at The Oconee Leader, which has been selling subscriptions since April. Subscription delivery is scheduled to start Aug. 29.

The paper has been delivered free to mailing addresses in the county since it was started in 2006. The paper claims to reach 92 percent of the mailing addresses in the county and to have a press run of 12,500 copies.

The rival paid weekly, The Oconee Enterprise, lists its circulation as 4,300.

For details on these two media developments, go to Oconee County Observations.