Patch

I've worked for a start-up website (not Patch). It's tough trying to build a reputation in the public's mind, especially after coming from a newspaper with a 150-year tradition. I had many coaches brush me off because they had never heard of my site before. I'm sure Patch's editors are gong through the same thing.

You just got to keep spinning the wheels until you get traction and take off. Once upon a time those newspapers probably had the same issue.

 

Not true at all, at least not in Podunk. Our internet guy and our editors are treating Patch like other competitors that tried, and failed, to gain advertising traction in our community. We're aware of Patch, but, honestly, we've stopped checking the local sites on a regular basis because they aren't even trying on breaking news.

 

Like everything else, this probably varies from area to area. I'm in Terrier's state, and yeah, I've heard the same thing. Heard from someone that reporters at one paper are only allowed to look at the Patch that covers their town while in the office.

 

I can tell you that, as of right now, there are three Patch sites competing with me and, I'm going to be brutally honest here because I don't care, only one of the three is even close to doing a good job.

The first hired a rookie straight out of college and all I've heard are horror stories about this person. I don't know this person personally, have never met him/her but all I've heard are reports about how he/she is basically acting like he/she works for the Enquirer, is stepping on folks' toes to get stories and ignoring the basic tenets of civility, probably because he/she has never been exposed to real journalism.

The second hired someone I used to work with. He/she is a pretty good person and, so far, is doing OK in terms of getting news coverage out there but the site isn't even close to being legit yet because no one in the community knows what it is/respects is.

As I said, the third is doing pretty well. I'm not speaking out of turn here because I've told the editor of this particular site exactly what I'm going to tell you. This person is covering the things no one else is and, from a sports perspective at least, is carving out his/her own niche.

Long term, though, I don't worry about patch because, as the above example illustrates, even with the best intentions they're lucky to find success a third of the time.

Oh, and terrier, are you talking about the big or smaller state? Because I can tell you right now the only people worrying in the smaller state are ad reps. Editorially, we're not worried at all. We'll all coexist naturally. IMHO.

 

They're not spending a lot on local editors -- $40k, especially in a metro area, doesn't get you much, and I hear that's the going rate -- thus they're not getting a lot of veterans. They have some experienced upper-level editors, but only a handful in each region. So you're hiring kids out of college, which often is fine but ends up with experiences such as schiezainc brings up. With a start-up, where the initial opinion of a brand can be long-lasting, they need to be smart about who they're hiring.

Overall, I'm seeing some good work in the sites in my area. But you can tell there are some editors who are overwhelmed and adrift without any guidance from above.

 

And we shouldn't be worried editorially, Schieza. Unfortunately, editorial people don't sign the paychecks.

 

Anyone have any information on Patch's expansion plans? I sent an email to their general inbox because I was curious if they had plans to come to my area but never got a response.

 

The short answer is yes, because they plan on expanding to every state.

The more detailed answer is that they sort of cluster out from existing sites. In New England, you had a cluster in East Bay RI, which then spread to West Bay and southern CT. With that info and looking at where other patches are near you, you can probably guess if you're getting one relatively soon. Obviously, it's going to take them a bit to get to Texas, Colorado, etc. As of the end of today, there is (scheduled) to be 563 Patch sites.

 

Peter Vecsey daughter works for one in East Hampton.

 

They got to 500 this month. Last I heard, the plan was something like 750 by the end of 2011 and growing from there.

 

Well, they already got a cluster in Michigan, so maybe Texas, Colorado aren't as far off as we think.

 

Sports is the key to Patch. You can't schedule a house fire, but you can sure schedule a high school sports event. In Sept., no one knew anything about Patch. Last night, someone said "Patch, you guys are everywhere." I suppose they could say the same thing about locusts. But having someone at basically every local high school to cover a basketball game in Fairfax County, Va., on Tuesday and Friday nights is not only getting some people to visit the sites, but getting the word out. I have recently seen ads in some of the Patches in my area.