Posted Apr 10th 2012 2:30PM by Warren Webster
We are thrilled to
announce today that Patch has signed two-time All-Star and four-time Golden Glove winner Mark Teixeira as "Commissioner of Patch Baseball"! Patch is all about hometown and neighborhood, and what's more hometown than baseball? Mark will answer questions from residents of Patch towns, share baseball tips, post exclusive videos, and offer young athletes some advice about healthful eating and staying in shape. Mark is a resident of a
Patch town, grew up in
another, and is an avid Patch user and supporter. We're very excited to have him on the team!
Continue reading Batter Up! Patch signs Mark Teixeira
Posted Apr 9th 2012 3:58PM by Andrew Margie
Congratulations to Patcher Peter Heyneman!
Last week, Peter, who works on our Business Engagement team, proposed to his girlfriend Erin on the set of the game show "The Price is Right." Host Drew Carey stopped and congratulated the couple from the stage while taping the show. Upon hearing that Peter worked for Patch, Drew touted the importance of covering local community news and information. It turns out that Drew is a proud native of the Cleveland area where Patch covers seventeen communities.
Great news Drew, we've still got you covered! We have over thirty Patches in the Los Angeles area, including one in your new hometown: Hollywood Patch!
Continue reading Come on Down...Down On One Knee, That Is!
Posted Feb 13th 2012 11:22AM by Warren Webster
The Society of Professional Journalists' Northern California Chapter has named
Hercules Patch a First Amendment Honoree, and will present the award at the 27
th annual James Madison Awards Banquet on Thursday, March 15, 2012, at the City Club of San Francisco.
About the honor,
SPJ writes on their blog:
●
The Hercules Patch, the local news site operated by America Online, receives the
News Media award for its dogged tracking of the questionable financial management practices in the East Bay city of Hercules. Patch produced more than 13 investigative stories and 100 daily stories, and created 20 databases to follow the money.
We at Patch couldn't be any prouder of the team, especially Hercules Patch local editor
Laila Kearney along with senior regional editor
Ari Soglin and their team in the East Bay. Hercules Patch is relatively new to the media scene in California and is already making a major difference in the lives of residents in Hercules. To be recognized by one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations in the country representing journalists, especially for such an important series, is truly a major accomplishment by Laila and her colleagues. Go Hercules Patch!
Continue reading Patch honored by the Society of Professional Journalists for a Herculean accomplishment
Posted Feb 10th 2012 12:53PM by Warren Webster
At Patch we believe that many of the ideas that will shape the future of digital media and journalism will come (not surprisingly) from the next generation who are now in business and j-schools. Those passionate students will challenge established models and help us constantly reinvent the world of media. For that reason, we love to work with these schools as much as possible. We offer real-world experience and coaching to students at over 100 institutions through our PatchU program. And as often as possible we get to meet with classes and talk about what we're doing. Last night I spoke at the Iona College Mass Communications Department and had a great conversation with students, a couple Patch editors, and Professor Thomas Callahan. My message was basically this: Here's what we're doing at Patch and why; Here's my take on what we can expect in the near future; You will be a big part of how this industry develops; And finally, contrary to popular opinion, the future of local media is incredibly bright and exciting! Thanks to Iona for having me, and I'm off to Stanford's Graduate School of Business next week to talk about the future of media.
Continue reading The future of our industry: Still in school
Posted Feb 7th 2012 3:29PM by Rachel Feddersen
What a thrill to be officially introducing myself to you as the newest Patcher! I am so excited to be joining this amazing group.
A little about me: I live in the fabulous Patch town of Montclair, New Jersey, and have been an avid Patch reader for quite a while. Plus, I have a long history of working in hyperlocal, and I think that Patch is the best realization of that endeavor that I've seen, ever. Put it all together and I feel like I've landed my dream job.
In fact, I feel like I've come full circle. I began my online career in 1995 in the local editorial space, at an office a block away from the current Patch HQ. I worked as the City Editor of New York's first online guide, a precursor to Time Out New York that was called Metrobeat.com. I moved on to run the local parenting paper network for Disney's Family.com, and since then have worked for a slew of online lifestyles sites from iVillage to Parenting.com. It turns out that working for such a broad variety of sites, combined with my stint as a reporter in D.C. covering Capitol Hill and the FDA, has given me some great lessons in how to serve a readership and a digital business.
When it comes to Patch, there's an enormous amount to learn. I want to absorb as much as I can as quickly as possible. I'm really looking forward to coming aboard. 2012 is going to be a huge year; Patch's trajectory is tremendous; and there are great things ahead.
I'm just sorry I'll have to wait another 7 months for Chris Shea Day.
Continue reading I'm a Patcher!
Posted Jan 31st 2012 12:01PM by Warren Webster
As you may know, New Jersey was the first state where Patch launched, so we're always excited to be able to honor that however we can. As such, we're happy to announce Patch has teamed up with NETS Basketball to celebrate New Jersey and our readers in a big way: For their final season in New Jersey, NETS Basketball has partnered with Patch to honor local heroes to "Celebrate New Jersey County Nights." In addition, for home games between February 1 and March 14, NETS Basketball and Patch will offer premium tickets for discounted prices, on-court promotions, and contests. We'll be in the Patch booth in The Prudential Center offering a chance to win an autographed basketball and tickets to a NETS game. For tickets, just search "NETS Basketball" on any New Jersey Patch site.
Continue reading Patch and NETS Basketball Team Up
Posted Jan 30th 2012 2:07PM by Warren Webster
A few weeks ago, we announced that a family in Davis, CA, had won our first Deck the House holiday decorating contest, and from the moment we made it public, we couldn't wait to give away the actual prize: $100,000 to the local school district in Davis! Kristy and Jim Powell's spectacular decorating of their home, known as "Candy Cane Court," is what brought home the gold - and the green! - for their community, and Friday night's presentation of the prize was just as exciting for us as it was for the Powells and the Davis students!
Claudia Huapaya from our marketing team (a veteran Patcher) was on hand in CA to lead the way and make sure the event went off without a hitch. It was really exciting, both for Claudia and for all of us here at Patch, to hear that so many people at the game knew about the contest and the upcoming check presentation. Superintendent Roberson and Trustee Sheila Allen took the court during halftime to accept the $100,000 from Davis Patch Local Editor Justin Cox and the Powell Family. Superintendent Roberson put it best when he held the giant check overhead and said, "Hey kids, this is for you!" The crowd went wild.
I know we're the ones who gave away the money, but honestly, we feel like we're the ones who took home the big prize. It means the world to us to be to able to give back in a big way; it goes right to our mission of serving our communities whenever and however we can. And hey, all the better when there's a giant check involved - who doesn't love those?! Congratulations to Davis Schools from everyone here at Patch!
Continue reading Davis Schools Win Big with Patch
Posted Jan 10th 2012 7:07PM by Warren Webster
We are thrilled to
announce that
Patch has become the #4 local and regional property, according to comScore's December rankings, up from #10 at the beginning of 2011. This UV growth continued in December despite a seasonal decrease among many other local and regional sites. Patch launched less than 3 years ago, and the average age of Patch sites is less than 14 months old - so you can imagine how proud we are of this accomplishment. It is truly a testament to the hard work of our teams in communities across America. Most importantly it shows that Patch continues to engage and connect with residents of towns, which, after all, is where we are focused day and night. Go Patch!
Continue reading Patch shoots up the charts to #4 local site
Posted Jan 6th 2012 12:05PM by Warren Webster
All politics is local, as they say, and there's nothing more local than Patch. One of the things we're most excited about in 2012 is the unprecedented neighborhood-level coverage that over 900 Patch journalists across the country will serve up during election season. This morning, our own Dan Tuohy in New Hampshire was interviewed on CNN as a local authority on what's happening in NH in the days leading up to the primary. Be sure to
watch it here, and stay tuned for much more election coverage spanning local, regional and national races!
Continue reading CNN taps Patch for local expertise at New Hampshire primary
Posted Dec 5th 2011 5:21PM by Chelsey Johnson
While it's so important to give back all year, it is especially meaningful to help those in need during the holiday season. For Give 5 day, an initiative across all of Patch where employees take a day to give back to the very communities they serve, we heard some amazing stories from Patchers across the country. Here are a few of their stories:
In a collective Give 5 effort, almost all Patchers in one CT region (that's 16 editors!) volunteered at the Foodshare warehouse in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Foodshare is a non-profit that serves a 42-town area in Connecticut, collects frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items, and cash every year around the holidays to help those in need. In addition to providing coverage to the cause on their respective Patch sites, these Patchers logged many hours on-site at the Foodshare warehouse, collecting turkeys and other canned goods from the many donators. Awesome work everyone!
David Moran (Local Editor, Manchester) slinging Turkeys at the Foodshare Warehouse.
Regional Editor Megan Bard Morse gets enthusiastic with The Granbys Local Editor Ted Glanzer during their volunteer time.
Senior Advertising Manager Lee R. DeLay III donated Patch swag to the Poway, Calif. 3rd Annual Shop Hop: an auction benefiting Pomerado Elementary Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fundraising for Pomerado Elementary School. His efforts were met with much gratitude from the event organizers, who were pleased to share that they exceeded their monetary goal for the auction. Lee also donated advertising space for the Shop Hop, which event organizers directly contributed to higher traffic for the event. Way to go!
A Group Shot of the "Shop Hop."
Though this next one is in fact a Thanksgiving story of Patchy awesomeness, it is not a Give 5 day charitable example (we're including it because we love the passing along of that much green goodness!). Greater Boston Regional Editor Mark Micheli and Boston ARE Roberto Scalese set up a Patch booth at a huge high school Thanksgiving-day football game. He was able to hand out tons of Patch swag, sign oodles of people up for the newsletter, and even gave away some 500 cups of hot cocoa (all in Patch cups, of course!). And get this - the game started at 10 a.m. and the hot cocoa was gone by 10:30 a.m.! That means Patch green was warming the hands of hundreds of spectators in the crowd. Maybe it's just us, but we think Patch was the real winner of this game!
Regional Editor Mark Micheli, his wife, and Boston ARE Robert Scalese at their Patch Booth!
There you have it, Patchers sharing the love in many different ways. Patch employees - think you have an awesome Give 5/Patch sharing story that was not included in this post? Comment below, we'd love to hear about it!
Continue reading Patchers Give 5 (Again!)
Posted Nov 10th 2011 10:24AM by Troy Gunther
Congratulations to Jared Ranere, Patch's Product Manager, on his recent marriage to Amanda McCroskery! The wedding took place October 15, 2011, on Shelter Island, which is located at the eastern end of Long Island, NY. The ceremony finished with a flourish: a second line band, led by Treme's Jonathan Batiste, burst into the chapel and then led a parade into the reception, which included Jared tap-dancing in the couple's first dance.
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Ranere, from the whole Patch family!
Continue reading Hark! Were those wedding bells?!
Posted Nov 8th 2011 11:23AM by Troy Gunther
On November 3, Patch editors from throughout Montgomery County, PA, visited
Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, to assist with repairs on the Pennypack Preserve in the continuing recovery after Hurricane Irene. This was part of Patch's Give 5 program, through which Patchers donate 5 days a year to volunteering in their communities.
In the aftermath of the August hurricane,
residents spoke with Patch Local Editor
Gerry Dungan about the damage to trees and from flooding in the area. Dungan and his colleagues knew the rebuilding process would be a long and challenging one, so it felt like a great fit to use their Give 5 day toward this effort.
Restoration Manager Chris Dartley must have predicted how passionate these Patchers would be about lending a hand; upon their arrival, he told them, "We saved the biggest problem for you guys. We heard we had some muscle coming in, so we saved it for you." By the end of the event, the Patch editors were able to straighten and support nearly 100 trees downed during flooding.
Patch Editors Give 5 (from left, back row) Leann Pettit, Local Editor, Ambler Patch; Tony DiDomizio, LE, Lansdale Patch; James Myers, LE, Norristown Patch; Melissa Treacy, Regional Editor; David Powell, Associate Regional Editor; (middle) Ann Cornell, LE, Perkiomen Valley Patch; Kyle Bagenstose, LE, Upper Dublin Patch; (front) Gerry Dungan, LE, Upper Moreland Patch.
Continue reading Patch Editors Give 5 to Help Repair Hurricane Irene Damage
Posted Nov 7th 2011 9:40AM by Patch Staff
Patch editors are known to be bold, fearless, and open to new experiences, but how's this for going above and beyond - literally?!
Aldrin Brown, Regional Editor for California's Inland Empire cluster l, Editors
Nancy Wride (
Belmont Shore-Naples Patch),
Guy McCarthy (
Banning-Beaumont Patch),
Toni McAllister (
Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch),
Hazel Lodevico-To'o (
Glendora Patch) and
MarieSam Sanchez (
Cerritos-Artesia Patch) defied the laws of gravity a couple of weeks ago during a team outing. How is that possible, you ask? These Patchers went to Universal Citywalk and used
iFLY, a skydiving simulator machine that uses a vertical wind tunnel to help suspend people in mid-air. If you don't believe us, we have
a video to prove it.
Looks like it was a great time, but we're glad they're back on earth. We need them down here.
Continue reading Up, up and away for some CA Patchers
Posted Nov 7th 2011 9:22AM by Patch Staff
What's not to love about Halloween? It's the only time that you're allowed to eat candy until your teeth fall out. But the best part of Halloween is the awesome costume parties, obvi. One creative Patcher at HQ didn't need to look far for inspiration. Christian Perkins, Operations Supervisor for Directory (on left, with Lam Tran, Sales Operations Coordinator, on the right), showed up at our Halloween shindig dressed up as none other than
Brian Farnham, Patch's Editor-In-Chief. From Brian's trademark swagger to his fashionably mussed blonde coif, we think Christian really hit the mark. Or the Brian, as the case may be.
Continue reading A Patchy Halloween
< Previous Page | Next Page >
