what's up w/ Patch.com

I'm currently free-lancing for Patch.com, I actually prefer it to the standard newspaper.

 

I have been writing for the Patch.com sites in Northern Virginia for about two months, and as one of those laid off by USA TODAY 52 weeks ago, it's a great outlet for my reporting and writing jones. The money is not great, but it's not as bad as you might think from reading posts on message boards. Yes, I'm looking for a full-time job, but it gives me a chance to show potential employers current work. And, if you have real journalism experience, you will quickly have an opportunity to fill your plate with stories, since the editors are somewhat desperate for people who they can trust to do good work.
If you're in a situation similar to mine, I recommend giving Patch.com a look.

 

Anybody will solid info about possible expansion plans into the SW, I would be most appreciative.

 

I am waiting for solid information on possible expansion to the western half of the tiny state of Massachusetts. Seekonk has a patch, but the third-larges city in the state doesn't have it. I actually got proactive and sent some emails stating the case to get it out here with my resume attached.

 

The demographics in urban areas, specifically Springfield, aren't necessarily what Patch wants. They only have sites in a handful of Boston neighborhoods, ones with very high household incomes.

They seem to be targeting suburbia -- and, based on what I'm seeing, pink-collar suburbia.

 

Typically, the algorithm they use is weighted with a variety of factors - median income, size (has to be between 10k and 50k normally), what competition exists there, how close it is to existing Patch sites, how the school district performs, field interviews with some citizens, what sort of civic organizations (churches, YMCA) already have a footprint in the town, etc.

It does generally skew in the middle, upper-middle range in terms of income, but you do have to keep in mind that it is an online news service. It doesn't necessarily make the most sense to devote a lot of resources to cities where citizens don't have a computer in their own home, or where a large portion of the citizens don't speak English, not when there are still dozens of other better places in the same state. (I don't think any states are close to a saturation point yet, iirc.)

 

Not ripping you guys for it, just explaining to Chris that Patch sites in Springfield, Holyoke and the like won't happen anytime soon.

And I believe Patch is doing some foreign-language news sites in a couple of the inner Boston suburbs. I'd be interested in seeing how those do once they're established, because they could fill a decent-sized niche.

 

Ah, okay, gotcha I guess I'm just a bit defensive about it, since it's the #1 question I get, along with "How are you guys gonna make money?"

One other thing that might be limiting some sites - Finding appropriate people for the job. For one site in Rhode Island, they've already interviewed and rejected at least three people because they didn't have the requisite tech skills or news background. It wouldn't surprise me if, when they did go into the bigger regions, some of the editors were transfers from already-successful sites.

 

I thought the idea was to have somebody who's fairly local and knows the territory?
Technical skills can be learned - anybody who's a good enough journalist to be interviewed is probably also smart enough to learn the technical stuff, too.

 

Well, to use RI as an example, transferring them from Cranston to Providence, or South Kingstown to Warwick, or something like that.

 

Okay, I understand. There are too many talented people available in Rhode Island for Patch to have to bring in somebody from outside the area.

 

You know, you'd think that, but a lot of people aren't interested in the whole model and what not, which is understandable. It's definitely different and a bit risky, especially at a good gig, and they're pretty particular about what they're looking for.

There also isn't much room for specialization just yet - i.e. full time sports and photo staff. Hopefully if things do take off, they'll expand into those areas, but right now I know some talented people who aren't really qualified for a news job, but could do awesome with a narrow sports or photo beat.