Business Insider | WSJ.com
A Patch editor from the East Coast tells Nicholas Carlson that coming up with advertising possibilities “is a bridge too far by any measure” and “requiring journalists — already run ragged by their normal duties — to do this is so far beyond the pale it actually makes my stomach hurt.” The editor says his job requires that he….
Post seven pieces of content a day, with a minimum of four; Edit all copy and photographs; Shoot and edit video for stories and as stand-alone content; Main reporter and writer (with no editor or copyeditor); Main photographer; Contract freelancers and assign stories; Maintain budget (couple grand, more or less) per month; Pay freelancers twice a week; Recruit and edit stable of bloggers; Track all users and comments on site; Acquire guest editor for vacation days (and pay them from my own budget at $100 a day); Post to Facebook and Twitter four to six times a day (twice a day on weekends)
The source says lead editors are responsible for organizing marketing events, which involves carrying a large Patch banner and other items, such as chairs, barrels for bottled water giveaways, iced tea in hot weather, or coffee urns in cold weather. In some markets, the editor has to take a “prize wheel” to events. Dow Jones reported earlier this week that AOL chief Tim Armstrong wants at least some Patch sites to turn a profit this year. If Patch veers “way off track,” he said, AOL could explore a sale. || In January, Nicholas Carlson wrote that “the real problem with Patch is that no one needs it.” He followed that up in March with some thoughts on what Patch has to do to succeed “and prove us wrong.” || Read Patch stories from the Romenesko+ archives.
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