Problems at Patch.com

[lono]

Also in the original plan they forgot about little things -- like a backup for the local editor. Some local editors are work six days a week routinely. Some of the local editors who are single are working all seven days. Patch is trying to get that under control with, but it is still a huge problem. Local editors are expected to personally file five or six stories/videos a day and also manage 12-18 freelancers. Just impossible.

That just isn't accurate. I know a few Patch local editors and they are expected to have a total of four or five stories per day, including freelance contributions and some regional stories (in places that have other neighboring Patch sites).

There are definitely some flaws here and I wonder if it can last, too, but some of the information out there is way off.

Not sure which part of my post you feel is "way off."

From The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/business/media/17local.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=2&adxnnlx=1296910836-4ujg9zmSq/xIln5Lunu3wQ

Current and former Patch journalists say the operation is like a start-up in that experimentation is encouraged. But the bare-bones staffing — one full-time journalist for each community — can also mean working seven days a week and publishing articles that lack depth simply to meet a quota, they said.

The part about the LE having to put file five or six stories themselves per day in addition to managing the freelancers. It is more like four per day including freelance articles. Some choose to do more.

There are plenty of good questions to ask about Patch, but it helps to start with accurate information.

Fine. The local editor has to post 5 or 6 pieces a day in addition to managing 12-18 freelancers. The 5 or 6 pieces can come from the local editor or from the freelancers -- or a combination. However, the the local editor, who is also personally responsible for writing, editing and shooting video, must also manage the content provided by the 12-18 freelancers and serve as their daily contact.

For some local editors who choose to do so, the work week can extend over six or more days.

How is this for accuracy?

Closer, except I think the minimum for content each day is lower than that. Probably depends on the regional editors a bit, too.

Well here is fact. In a number of markets Patch is advertising for a number of "associate local editors" -- a clear indication that the local editors are maxed out and simply can't handle the work load. We can argue about how much many story/videos the local editors are required to post, but the fact is they just can't get it all done in a five-day week and still manage 12-18 freelancers, most of whom are greenhorns and need heavy hand holding:

119855BR
Posting Job Title Associate Local Editor, Silicon Valley, Patch
Brand Patch
Market Location United States - California - Work From Home
Position
Type Full Time
Posting Job Description Are you a passionate and entrepreneurial online journalist? Want to be part of a dynamic and innovative team of journalists, engineers, designers and business pros who are creating a bold new solution for our industry? Do you think that traditional news media just don't get it anymore? Would you like to run your own local news Web site, where you'll tap the multimedia and social media skills you've mastered to transform community journalism and connect with communities? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, keep reading…



We're Patch.com, a start-up that's radically reinventing community journalism. We launched in February 2009 and we now operate hundreds of local news sites in towns with populations under 70,000, and we continue to expand! Patch is founded on two core principles: that news matters in towns across the country and that we can create a successful business model to sustain it. Even as many newsrooms have been downsized or shut down, Patch is investing millions to create a nationwide network of news sites using our dynamic platform to produce meaningful daily and enterprise journalism and pioneer new forms of storytelling to serve communities. We have won acclaim in the industry and coverage in The New York Times, Forbes Magazine, Bloomberg, NPR's "Talk of the Nation," "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer," and numerous industry blogs and Web sites. We've recently also announced Patch.org, a new initiative that will allow us to collaborate with local foundations and journalism schools to cover under-served communities.



Patch.com is looking for smart, innovative journalists to join our team as full-time site editors. We see this as nothing less than the future of online journalism. Visit patch.com to learn more about our mission and to visit our news sites.



Job responsibilities (to include, but not limited to):



• Assist with running local news sites all in close proximity OR dispersed in a region – reporting, writing, taking pictures and video; finding, assigning and editing freelancers and local columnists, and connecting with the community to attract user-generated content

• Provide vacation relief to editors in the region when necessary and appropriate

• Assist with initiatives to drive sites in the region to become landmarks in the communities they serve.

• Work collaboratively with colleagues in a region to produce impactful breaking news, features and enterprise journalism and storytelling, and create new ways to connect with and engage communities

• Collaborate with the business team to build and maintain town directory of key officials, organizations and business listings



Required skills:



• Recent community journalism experience.

• Ability to manage, direct, and motivate a team of freelancers.

• Ability to manage a budget

• "Bull-dog" reporting instincts

• willingness to ask tough questions of important people.

• Experience in online journalism

• Experience editing video, producing a Web site and/or excellent photography skills.

• Firm grasp of AP style.

• Solid news judgment.

• Adept with a variety of social media tools

• Strong organizational, time management, and interpersonal skills.



Desired skills:



• Passionate about the web, social networking, and of course community journalism.

• Be able to quickly grasp the interests, rhythms and identity of a community.

• Thrive in a fast-paced environment

• Entrepreneurial spirit and drive; start up experience a plus



Education/Industry background:



• Ideal candidate will have at least two years of professional reporting experience, as well as college media and internship experience

• Degree in journalism, new media, or similar discipline (graduate degree a plus)



Unique requirements:



• Must be a flexible, independent, self-starter – you'll work from home, the coffee shop, your car, the high school football game

• Tools for the job … best of all we will provide them: including a laptop, smart phone, camera, police scanner, etc.

• Must own a car.

• Must be willing to relocate if there isn't a site near you.

• Ability and willingness to work long hours (outside of the typical M-F and 9-5), evenings and weekends and holidays

That's a lot of work for $40k a year.

 

[zebracoy]

I've always maintained that the problem with hyperlocal is that eventually you run out of news.

This is taking it to an extreme, but consider a community with 40 people. You have a grocer, a barber, a farmer, an accountant, etc.

At what point are these people actually doing stuff that's newsworthy, and at what point are you just reporting on useless, mundane things? The all-Hyperlocal Daily baseball team is probably choosing 60 percent of an eligible population.

That's why I've never been drawn to this hyperlocal stuff. Let me know what's going on in the world and how it relates to me. I don't care very much to read 45 inches about the butcher who's been in business for 20 years at the age of 43.

 

[outofplace]

Also in the original plan they forgot about little things -- like a backup for the local editor. Some local editors are work six days a week routinely. Some of the local editors who are single are working all seven days. Patch is trying to get that under control with, but it is still a huge problem. Local editors are expected to personally file five or six stories/videos a day and also manage 12-18 freelancers. Just impossible.

That just isn't accurate. I know a few Patch local editors and they are expected to have a total of four or five stories per day, including freelance contributions and some regional stories (in places that have other neighboring Patch sites).

There are definitely some flaws here and I wonder if it can last, too, but some of the information out there is way off.

Not sure which part of my post you feel is "way off."

From The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/business/media/17local.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=2&adxnnlx=1296910836-4ujg9zmSq/xIln5Lunu3wQ

Current and former Patch journalists say the operation is like a start-up in that experimentation is encouraged. But the bare-bones staffing — one full-time journalist for each community — can also mean working seven days a week and publishing articles that lack depth simply to meet a quota, they said.

The part about the LE having to put file five or six stories themselves per day in addition to managing the freelancers. It is more like four per day including freelance articles. Some choose to do more.

There are plenty of good questions to ask about Patch, but it helps to start with accurate information.

Fine. The local editor has to post 5 or 6 pieces a day in addition to managing 12-18 freelancers. The 5 or 6 pieces can come from the local editor or from the freelancers -- or a combination. However, the the local editor, who is also personally responsible for writing, editing and shooting video, must also manage the content provided by the 12-18 freelancers and serve as their daily contact.

For some local editors who choose to do so, the work week can extend over six or more days.

How is this for accuracy?

Closer, except I think the minimum for content each day is lower than that. Probably depends on the regional editors a bit, too.

Well here is fact. In a number of markets Patch is advertising for a number of "associate local editors" -- a clear indication that the local editors are maxed out and simply can't handle the work load. We can argue about how much many story/videos the local editors are required to post, but the fact is they just can't get it all done in a five-day week and still manage 12-18 freelancers, most of whom are greenhorns and need heavy hand holding:

Those poor, messed-up bastards! They are actually hiring more people! A true sign of impending doom!

 

[The Big Ragu]

Those poor, messed-up bastards! They are actually hiring more people! A true sign of impending doom!

AOL's history of getting excited about ventures, hiring a ton of people, and telling everyone they are 100 percent behind it, isn't the most confidence-inspiring.

 

[Moderator1]

^

 

[SF_Express]

Those poor, messed-up bastards! They are actually hiring more people! A true sign of impending doom!

AOL's history of getting excited about ventures, hiring a ton of people, and telling everyone they are 100 percent behind it, isn't the most confidence-inspiring.

Speaking from experience, and certainly not even just this last FanHouse deal, boy, is that true.

There was a very narrow time where AOL was THE innovator, had a great idea and led the way in the online industry, both in terms of access and providing popular content to users. And they've lived on that rep for a very long time.

But that time is long past, and their innovations and great ideas have been fewer and farther between, and if you look at the latest, I don't know, 10 years, they've had more misses than makes.

 

[outofplace]

Those poor, messed-up bastards! They are actually hiring more people! A true sign of impending doom!

AOL's history of getting excited about ventures, hiring a ton of people, and telling everyone they are 100 percent behind it, isn't the most confidence-inspiring.

No doubt. I'm just saying that Cigar using the hiring of more people as a bad thing is kinda silly.

 

[podunk press]

Knowing what you know now, would you leave your newspaper gig for Patch?

 

[SF_Express]

Those poor, messed-up bastards! They are actually hiring more people! A true sign of impending doom!

AOL's history of getting excited about ventures, hiring a ton of people, and telling everyone they are 100 percent behind it, isn't the most confidence-inspiring.

No doubt. I'm just saying that Cigar using the hiring of more people as a bad thing is kinda silly.

I dunno, man. Hiring unemployed or young, inexperienced people, OK, I'll give it to you. And that might be the majority of people taking a shot with Patch. Hiring people who already had jobs and gave them up for promises of great things and long-term security with FanHouse?

Yeah, it was a bad thing.

 

[Moderator1]

Long-term security these days means you'll get your next paycheck.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

And that it clears.

 

[TigerVols]

I know a smart, aggressive 23 year old girl who just graduated with a Mass Comm degree from Cal State Fullerton and I'm hoping Patch comes to our neck of the woods cause she'd jump at one of those jobs.