[3] The platform is based on a lead reporter in each community, does not offer international news, but does have an "Across America" site, with national stories.

Armstrong told AOL staffers that he recused himself from negotiations to acquire the company and did not directly profit from his seed investment.

[9][10] AOL paid an estimated $7 million in cash for the news platform as part of its effort to reinvent itself as a content provider beyond its legacy dial-up Internet business.

[13] The company grew from 46 markets to over 400 in 2010, and by early 2011 The New York Times reported that it was "finding progress where others have failed", and had grown to 800 communities.

[21] Charles Hale informed Recode in 2019 that his network of 1,200-plus hyperlocal news sites was generating more than $20 million in annual ad revenue, without a paywall.