Worth Reading: Patch, ad sales, hyperlocal and social media

Some things worth reading today:

AmyJo Brown reflects on her time at Patch and what works and doesn't. No, not another rant - read this especially for her thoughtful insights on why the advertising model is broken and will also be tough to rebuild for many local news operations, not just the "hyperlocal" ones.

I am becoming more and more convinced that if we'd put half as much effort into reinventing the ad side of things as we do complaining about the intractability of newsrooms, we actually might have a clue how to go forward. But I've seen relatively little movement in the ad bullpen (partly because it would mean totally blowing up traditional compensation structures).

NetNewsCheck also takes a look at last week's Block by Block summit for hyperlocal news operators and finds -- surprise -- dollars are becoming the hot topic. (Or, as put in more delicate terms - "sustainability.") Read this and Brown's together; they cover different parts of the same spectrum. (By the way, I like Brown's take that the journalism will largely take care of itself if you let it. I agree that many of the problems are outside the actual journalism.)

And what list wouldn't be complete without something about social media? So check out this British study that says 28 percent of journalists say they couldn't do their jobs without social media  - but the dark side is that fewer see it as a productivity tool or as a method of engagement.

G'day.