Reporting: General Reporting Series; Online
First place: Madison Patch Superstorm Sandy coverage; Pem McNerney (Editor, Madison and Guilford Patches) (pictured with Patch's Paul Singley, who received Honorable Mention for Newtown shooting reporting -- see below)

Second place: Mystic Streetscape Project;Ellyn Santiago (Editor, Stonington-Mystic and Groton Patches), Bree Shirvell, Deb Straszheim

Honorable mention: Coverage of Oxford teen's death; Patch.com; Paul Singley (Editor, Naugatuck and Oxford Patches)

Reporting: Investigative Series; Online
First place: Uncasville Massage Business Owner Has Prostitution Conviction in New York; Ellyn Santiago (Editor, Stonington-Mystic & Groton Patches)

Second place: Waterbury Fire captain was suspended in Avon before police investigation began; Jessie Sawyer (Editor, Avon and Farmington Patches)

Editorial: General Column; Online
First place: Breast Cancer: Stuff They Never Tell You; Ronni Newton (Editor, West Hartford Patch)

Second place: Martin Dagradi: Italian Family Man and Veteran; Jessie Sawyer (Editor, Avon and Farmington Patches)

Editorial: Opinion Column; Online
First place: 50 Shades of Grey: Just How Smutty Is It?; Susan Schoenberger (Associate Regional Editor)

Layout: Headline; Online
First place: Suspected Burglar Catches The Flue; Dirk Langeveld (Editor, New London and Montville Patch)

Newtown Shooting: General Reporting; Online
Honorable mention: Sandy Hook principal: Mother, educator, leader, hero; Paul Singley (Editor, Naugatuck and Oxford Patches)

Reporting: Arts & Entertainment; Online
First place: Kristian Bush: From Avon Old Farms to Sugarland; Jessie Sawyer (Editor, Avon and Farmington Patches)

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

His reporting won first place for News Story, Feature of a Light Nature, and Headline, a category in which he won second and third place as well. Charles's work includes reporting on milestone scientific discoveries at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as fun pieces like this one that explains the significance of President's Day. Before coming to Patch, Charles worked for many years as a writer and editor at the San Francisco Chronicle and has freelanced for the Los Angeles Times and the United Nations.

When asked about the awards, Charles said, "I think the recognition belongs to the entire Patch team. My role can be played only because of the larger Patch enterprise created and sustained by the hard work and talent of many others. I mean not only the platform and tools but also the support and inspiration I receive from colleagues."

Read more from Charles Burress

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

In a recent survey by The Washington Post's blog The Fix, South Carolina Patch Political Editor Shawn Drury was named one of the top political reporters in the state. The survey took into account nominations from the blog, Facebook and Twitter and focused on the "go-to" political reporter in each state across several types of media. Others recognized throughout the country included reporters from The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and the Associated Press.

Both Shawn and the S.C. Patch team have been quite active in the political arena: Shawn recently served as a moderator for the Patch-hosted Sanford-Colbert Busch debate in South Carolina and the S.C. Patch team was recently recognized as the top new media source for politics, as reported by Goose Creek Patch.

Shawn's reporting portfolio includes in-depth political profiles and analyses such as a piece on Congressman Mark Sanford's (R) name recognition and theviability of a Democratic Party takeover of South Carolina's fifth district seat.

When asked how he felt about the recognition, Shawn said, "There's nothing more satisfying professionally than being recognized by your audience and your peers for your work. So I'm thankful for that, but I'm even more thankful to be part of an incredible Patch team in South Carolina."

Read more highlights from Shawn Drury below:

• Governor Nikki Haley: 'My Heart is With Rural Areas'
• Lindsey Graham Not As Vulnerable As Some Think
• DeMint's Influence on Display in Labor Day Event

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Patch conceived of and organized the debate - even down to the coin toss. Patch green was everywhere - from TIME magazine to the Today Show. And more than 25 national and 17 local media outlets were on hand to cover the event.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Courtesy of D. Gallant

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

• Our only-on-Patch coverage which we're calling "Every Race in Every Town." The in-depth information on all the races that have an impact on Patch towns: Every race, every candidate, every ballot initiative, and all the information on where, when and how to vote.
• Our Patch Polls, which go to the politically influential folks in your town, can be an early indicator of the local leanings. And curious neighbors can dive into our political donation databases to find the big donor next door.
• Our up-to-the-minute local reporting as the presidential candidates crisscross the country, caught by locals who really know the territory and can capture the best newsmaking moments.
• The articles that show off how we've become the preeminent platform for local discussion -- on Thursday alone, Patch hosted debates with the governors of Massachusetts and South Carolina, and posted the video from a mayoral candidates forum in California.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Taking leave of Patch ain't easy, but let me try to boil down why I'm doing so: it turns out I really love creating things from scratch, and while Patch is in a continual process of truly fascinating evolution and only a toddler of a company, it has definitely left "scratch" in the dust. So I'm heading off to explore some other startup opportunities. But not before I take a good, long nap.

Patch has never just been a job for me. It's been a very personal experience. Jon Brod, who co-founded Patch and brought me on (as employee #4!), has been a close friend since college, twenty years ago. I turned 40 while at Patch. My two children were born while I was here. (In fact, I had to hastily leave a meeting to attend my son David's birth.) I didn't make this decision lightly, and I wouldn't be able to pull the trigger if I didn't feel Patch were in good shape and in great hands. One of several bittersweet feelings I'm having right now is the fact that Patch is enjoying such palpable momentum as a business. We've always joked that Patch is a bus we're building while it runs at top speed -- well, it feels like we've stopped wobbling and fishtailing from the fast start and now we're cruising.

There's still a lot of work left to do, of course, but I have to say I love how that work is getting organized and knocked out - especially on the revenue side. Mark Josephson and his team are killing it right now. And on the content side, same thing. I've only worked with Rachel Feddersen for about six weeks now but I have loved the ideas and focus she has brought to Patch. I've already learned a ton from her, and I'm sad to have to give up that partnership. She and I are touring around Patchland as I write this, and we're having a blast.

Allow me this indulgence of a paragraph: I've never worked for a company that has been as scrutinized, criticized, and coal-raked as this one. As Jon likes to say, you'd think we were creating toxic waste, instead of, you know, free useful information. We have critics on Wall Street, critics in the media, local critics, national critics, the business press, the journalism reviews, bloggers, etc. There are so many that I've come to think of them as a single large, screechy, off-key band called BI and the Haters. It's music to kill yourself by.

The good news about that? I think it's safe to say that we wouldn't be constantly deboned by all these critics if we weren't doing something really interesting and potentially threatening. People associated with, dependent on, or invested in existing systems don't like bold new attempts to re-imagine those systems. That's just the reality of a business like ours.

But if you ever find these noisome types getting you down and you want to escape it, just turn toward the community you work in. Because our users don't sing this tune. They just get us. They may sometimes chide us for certain ways we've executed things (or not executed them), but has any user ever complained to you that they don't understand why we exist? There's a reason we get thousands of emails from users about how we've improved their lives. We're trying to make communities better, stronger. If you're on the receiving end of that mission, what the hell is there to complain about?!

We have a lot to be proud of. We have accomplished some amazing things together. Historical things. Seriously -- no matter what happens from here on, any future history book about journalism or online media has to discuss Patch. How many more companies are you going to work for in your career where that will be true?

Here's what I'm most proud of: the people we've hired. We're staffed with some truly inspiring talent, on all sides of the business. Especially among you editors, whose work I obviously know best. I'm not bullshitting when I say I've learned from you every day. The job we gave you is hard. You have to be a certain kind of fearless to take it on. You don't just have to accept that the job will never be easy; you actually have to like that about it. And you have to be passionate. And man, you are.

And the editors I've gotten to know who fit this bill are just kickass people, on top of being pros. If I may offer some advice to you as an editorial team on my way out the door: if you're still inclined to think of yourself as a journalist, stop -- you're selling yourself short. This job gives you the opportunity to practice journalism while being something much greater. And if you're too concerned with living up to some rarefied notion of what a capital-J Journalist should be, you won't explore what else you can do with your position in your community.

I know it may seem like you're constantly being asked from on high to do this and that requirement or hit this or that goal, but in reality very little is actually prescribed about your role. Having created the job out of whole cloth, we have always looked to you to show us what can be made of it. So don't just write. Don't just report. Get into your communities. Figure out what being in the driver's seat of this remarkable local platform can really let you do.

There are a ton of people I need to thank. Tim Armstrong is #1 on that list. Patch is his vision, and I've never worked for a leader with more energy and bravery to push the ideas he's passionate about. I have to thank Jon Brod for trusting me to help create this company from nothing four years ago. I have to thank Warren Webster, who bleeds green and has been a calm, essential leader for Patch since the beginning.

If I name anyone else, I run the risk of leaving out someone just as deserving -- Patch has an extraordinary team of leaders and I love that I consider so many of them friends beyond our working relationship. I will miss being in the foxhole with you guys.

I do want to single out the Editorial Directors here -- Marcia, Sherry, Tim and ADC. You four were my rocks. You each bring something unique to the table and lead your teams in your own way, but it's the fierce caring you all exhibit that I've valued most. Couldn't have done anything we've done without you. Not even close.

Most of all I'm grateful to each and every editor at Patch. Being able to say I led a team of hundreds of wickedly smart, dedicated editors is an honor that will be tough to top in my career going forward. Thank you, and keep up the amazing work. I'll be watching.

A final note: This thing we've been trying to build here can't be fueled by timidity or complacency. Those of us who were here in the beginning followed Tim's lead and tried to be fast and bold. That's still very much needed. So, to be blunt, don't be afraid to fuck up. We weren't.

In the next couple of weeks I'm going to get out into the field as much as possible to say face-to-face goodbyes. For those I don't get to see, thank you, good luck and let's stay in touch. It has truly been an honor.

Onward!

B

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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!

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments