Patch.com, AOL's local news initiative, is now up to 18 sites in Minnesota cities. Late last week, in the wake of the Tucson mass murders, all but one Patch site explored the same issue: Minnesota's ban on City Hall gun bans.

There aren't many organizations that can throw 17 reporters at the same subject. As a demonstration of Patch's ability to coordinate a troop surge, it was impressive. Although Patch's news peg was strained — the Tucson shooting took place outside a grocery store — it showed a seriousness of purpose, especially if the political killing renews pressure to upend the City Hall gun-ban ban (however unlikely that would be with a Republican-dominated legislature).

You can see examples from Northfield, Mendota Heights, Woodbury, Oakdale and Eagan.

On some level, form follows function. A newspaper might ask several reporters to localize an overarching story, but would likely throw the answers into a single story if there weren't zoned editions. Because Patch is all about local, it could scatter the overarching story over its many sites. (Along with the local, local angle, each story was built around information reported by three Patch editors.)

That marries local primacy to maximum page views, which is basically Patch's deal. I've praised Patch's early efforts while cautioning about boosterism. Still, this is the sort of thing they should try again, with a more on-point analogy and even more ambitious topics.

By the way, a couple of national outlets have just weighed in on Patch; I can't say either the New York Times or the New Yorker is all that encouraging about the long-term future, especially since CEO (and original Patch investor) Tim Armstrong's turnaround plan isn't working financially.

An interesting data point from the New Yorker piece: 60 percent of Patch's readers are women. Meanwhile, according to the Times, former editors say stories average a mere 100 page views and are considered well-read with 500. Still, Patch execs tout three million unique monthly visitors across the 800-town, 19-state network.