AOL's hyperlocal project Patch announced that it would be the largest employer of journalists in the nation. Now, according to Editor and Publisher, Patch will team up with several universities to offer internships with credit for journalism students. Warren Webster, Patch Media's president, commented "Patch is committed to building strong relationships with colleges and universities that are preparing the journalists who will define the new media landscape." There is a fine line between opportunity and exploitation for interns in journalism, and it remains to be seen how carefully Patch will trend in this area.

Thirteen schools have signed onto the PatchU program, including Stanford University Graduate Program in Journalism and the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications & Journalism. The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, who recently announced a new masters program that will focus on startup companies, is also part of PatchU. "Under the guidance of Patch's editors, students will learn to pitch and write stories, cover local events, shoot and edit photos and videos, integrate content with social media and produce stories online using Patch's content management system," writes Editor and Publisher. "The students, either as interns or doing coursework, will gain real-world experience at Patch sites."
On the surface the opportunity to learn from a hyperlocal news organization such as Patch could be invaluable. As the news industry is suffering financially, intern programs have been slashed, making it difficult for students to acquire real-world experience. Unfortunately this has led to a surplus of journalism students attempting to find work, thus making it easy for news companies to exploit students for free labor. Similar arguments have been made against The New York Times' The Local: East Village blog, which NYU students provide free content on the site.

Hopefully Patch will provide a balance for its interns. As reporting becomes digitalized, learning social media skills provided by a hyperlocal site is critical for journalists' careers. Yet after students have built the necessary skill set, Patch and other news organizations should seek to offer fair compensation and possible room for growth. Early this year the UK implemented guidelines to protect journalism interns from being exploited for their writing, such as limited unpaid work to less than two months. Will PatchU be mutually beneficial to students, or will the internship program be perceived as merely an attempt to obtain free content?