Carol Robidoux, who became well known to Nashua during her years running the Nashua Patch news site, has plunged into the new-media world with a solo news blog covering Manchester, where she lives.

The site, Manchester Ink Link, has been running since June in blog format – that is, a stream of news stories with the most recent on top.

It features a mix of police items, press releases, meeting coverage and feature stories by Robidoux, with an emphasis on city government, as well as “news you can use” tidbits, profiles of stores, opinion pieces by others and traditional local news items such as a “pet of the week” from the local shelter.

In other words, the content is similar to Nashua Patch during the three years Robidoux oversaw it.

Nashua Patch was one of hundreds of local-news operations started around the country by America Online in an ambitious attempt to meld local journalism into a national force. Nashua Patch operated for three years before financial problems led AOL to sell Patch to investment firm Hale Global in January.

Robidoux was laid off, and Patch was downsized sharply. Its operations continue in Nashua, Amherst, Milford, Merrimack and a few other New Hampshire towns, but with little local content.

By heading out on her own, Robidoux is taking the path adopted by many journalists around the country as newspapers and TV stations struggle with declining revenue from advertising and circulation.

– Telegraph staff