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what's up w/ Patch.com

Discussion in 'Freelance/stringer help wanted' started by nmsports, Sep 6, 2010.

  1. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    Does Patch even have a sales staff? Good luck explaining to the local 72-year-old dry cleaner who has never advertised why he should spend money on a web ad that likely will be blocked by your adware.
     
  2. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    The 72-year-old businessmen are obviously a coveted demographic that only newspapers can penetrate, and they're mostly responsible for papers' continued financial dominance. And also, all old people are stupid and obviously can't use them new-fangled computers, ESPECIALLY if they're somehow "with it" enough to still have a small business in 2010.
     
  3. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    It's a legit concern. Many weeklies nowadays don't even have the sales staffs to adequately drum up business. And good luck trying to upsell a guy on a web ad, especially if he doesn't know anything about the Internet.

    I've heard/seen little about Patch's financial model. It's great they're hiring and investing, but it'd be nice to know if the business plan was solid, too. For instance: How quickly is each site expected to turn a profit? Two months? Two years?
     
  4. thedome

    thedome New Member

    Nope. That's yet ANOTHER title site editors are expected to take on -- sales guy/gal. That's why in the job description aol says they're seeking "entrepreneurial" journalists -- now that's an oxymoron (write a fluff-piece about my business, and I'll buy an ad). ... The ad/sales dept. and the reporters/editorial dept. are located in separate areas of a newsroom for a reason. ... Again, patch editors are expected to wear too many hats.
     
  5. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    This is completely false. I've been told repeatedly that we are not to sell ads, and I have people to refer them to. You're either just making stuff up, making assumptions, or basing your statements on things happening in isolated sites.
     
  6. terrier

    terrier Well-Known Member

    Greenwell's right. I know the guy who's been appointed regional publisher for my neck of the woods, and he's looking for sales talent.
     
  7. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    I guess I didn't make the cut as a local editor. I'm glad, though, since the regional editor I interviewed with listed cutting staff 30 percent and keeping quality "up" as an achievement. He rubbed me the wrong way and didn't seem to have a clue that Twitter and Facebook are just tools and not the Holy Grail of journalism.
     
  8. SudburyPatch

    SudburyPatch Guest

    Where was this interview?
     
  9. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    I'm not going to out the guy.
     
  10. fightingwords1

    fightingwords1 New Member

    Stitch,

    I don't know what you're talking about. Don't know how Patch can be cutting staff when they're in the middle of a giant hiring push to fill Patch positions all around.
     
  11. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    I saw the guy's LinkedIn profile that listed that achievement in a previous job. I'm aware that Patch.com is hiring.
     
  12. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    The whole thing is built upon the idea of using less staffing and thus less expense than a traditional paper, yeah. I mean, you're not producing a physical paper. While there is a significant tech staff, I imagine that doesn't outnumber all of the other personnel (production staff, delivery, secretarial, etc.) you need with a traditional media outlet.

    As far as the news and editorial side solely, I don't think it's that different from a local paper, depending on what area you're in. I'm full-time with a pretty healthy freelance budget that's essentially equivalent to another reporter and a quarter. That's a bit more than both of the weeklies in the area. It's definitely a different idea and model, but at least personally, I think it could thrive in the area where I am. The other companies in the area either aren't making money off the web, or aren't even trying,
     
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