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Meet Your Local Patch Team

William Rupp

William Rupp, Contributor, Editor

William (Bill) Rupp has spent most of his career as a community newspaper editor and reporter in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, including stints as managing editor and news editor at the Woonsocket Call and the Pawtucket Times and editor of the weekly Warren Times-Gazette. He has been the recipient of and has led editorial staffs that have been honored with awards from press associations in Rhode Island, New England, and Pennsylvania and the Suburban Newspapers of America. He holds M.A. and B.A. degrees in journalism from Pennsylvania State University and has studied holistic counseling at Salve Regina University. He and his wife, Cyndy, have a blended family with three grown daughters and two grown sons. Reading thriller and mystery books, writing, home renovation projects, and personal fitness take up most of his spare time.

Joseph Hutnak

Joseph Hutnak, Local Editor

Joe grew up in Johnston, and graduated from Johnston High School. After high school, he attended Rhode Island College and earned a bachelor's degree in English, then went into professional journalism with the Kent County Daily Times in West Warwick. After stints in Hopkinton and East Greenwich, Joe served as Editor of The Cranston Herald.

In later employment, Joe worked in nonprofit administration, youth programs, and education, before returning to journalism with JohnstonPatch in December, 2010.

Joe headed up the launch of SmithfieldPatch in September, 2012, and works as Editor for both sites.

Patrick Maguire

Patrick Maguire, Contributor, Editor

Pat graduated from the University of Delaware in 2010 with a degree in Political Science and Journalism. While at Delaware, Pat worked as the Managing Sports Editor for UD's student newspaper, The Review. He also interned at Delaware Today, a lifestyle magazine in Wilmington, Del., and he wrote sports for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Tim Rosenthal

Tim Rosenthal, Contributor, Editor

Tim, also known as Rosie, is the sports editor of Easton Patch. He graduated Suffolk University in 2009 where he majored in print journalism. While attending Suffolk, he was the sports editor at the Suffolk Journal and started his career in the online field writing for both College Hockey News and InsideHockey.com.

Jeremie Smith

Jeremie Smith, Contributor, Editor

Jeremie Smith has lived in four states but has always called Massachusetts "home." He received his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Keene State College in New Hampshire and has been working professionally in the field ever since. He has been a news editor and sports editor for daily newspapers in Connecticut as well as a managing editor for a weekly newspaper in the Nutmeg State. While at Keene State, he served as both a sports reporter and editor for the student newspaper, The Equinox. Jeremie is a Boston sports fanatic and enjoys the deep history and strong sense of community many New England towns like Foxborough have.

Jeff Sullivan

Jeff Sullivan, Contributor, Editor

Jeff graduated from The University of Rhode Island with a double major in history and journalism. While there, he wrote and edited for the university's student newspaper, The Good Five Cent Cigar. Prior to his time as a local editor with Patch, worked as a freelancer for Sudbury and Wrentham Patch in the fall of 2010, and learned firsthand the methods and modes of Patch.com. At the same time, he wrote for Somerville News as well as other publications.

Daniel Libon

Daniel Libon, Contributor, Editor

After spending 2009 and 2010 working on political campaigns around Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Dan began writing for a local sports blog called Noontime Sports run by Patch correspondent Matt Noonan. Soon that led to my first jobs as a freelancer for the Foxborough Patch in February 2011. In October 2011, I became a regular freelancer for the Wrentham and the Norton Patch. I have written on everything from the Foxborough casino issue to high school sports to school committee meetings. In his spare time, Dan enjoys playing sports and catching up with friends, running, and reading comics.

Tamara Starr

Tamara Starr, Contributor, Editor

Tamara was born and raised in Staten Island, New York, but anyone will be surprised to learn that she has always been a hard-core Boston Bruins fan, and she was excited to get her Masters in Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College and witness the big Stanely Cup win at the same time. She holds more than six years of experience working in radio, newspapers, and television stations in New York and Massachusetts.

Jonathan Friedman

Jonathan Friedman, Contributor, Editor

Jonathan Friedman grew up in South Florida and has a broadcast journalism degree from Ithaca College. 

Jeffrey Pickette

Jeffrey Pickette, Contributor, Editor

Jeffrey grew up in Stoughton, going to the South Elementary School and O'Donnell Middle School before graduating from Stoughton High in 2006.  He graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham in May of 2010.  At Brandeis, Jeffrey covered the Brandeis athletic teams for the school's paper, The Justice, and was a part of the basketball broadcast team for the school's radio station, WBRS.  During the last two years of college, he was also a staff writer for the Canton Citizen newspaper, covering news, sports and human interest stories.  As a senior in high school, he was editor-in-chief of the SHS Knight, Stoughton High's newspaper.  

Kelly A. Mello

Kelly A. Mello, Community Editor

Kelly graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in 2006 with a degree in English with a concentration in communications and rhetoric. While at UMass, Kelly contributed to Temper Magazine, and took a journalism course at the Standard Times. After graduation, Kelly was hired as editorial assistant for GateHouse Media, a community newspaper company. In addition to her journalism background, Kelly has also written several theater reviews for SOCO Magazine, a south coast Massachusetts oriented publication. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys reading, kayaking and doing other outdoor activities.

Danielle Masterson

Danielle Masterson, Contributor

Since graduating from Boston University, Danielle has had two successful careers in news writing and teaching at the elementary school level. She loves to listen to music, crochet and read. She lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and their two dogs, Jake and Chloe. 

Corinne Lunnin

Corinne Lunnin, Calendar Editor

Born and raised in the South Shore Corinne received her BA in Theatre Arts from Bridgewater State University. Working in theatre has allowed for her to be alongside talented artists and designers. Corinne recently finished a stay with the Adirondak Theatre Festival in Glens Falls, NY,  where she was employed as the seasonal company manager. She also worked for several years with both Trinity Repertory Company in Providence RI and The Peterborough Players in Peteborough, NH. In her off time Corinne enjoys yard sales, horsebackriding, kayaking, and reading.

Kerri Dale

Kerri Dale, Calendar Editor

Kerri Dale lives in the greater Boston area with her husband and two children. After being a stay at home mom for 16 years she is very excited to be a part of Patch. She enjoys spending time with her family, boating and jetskiing.

Jordan Brumer, Sales

Kelsey White, Sales

Bob Havey

Bob Havey, Contributor

Bob is a freelance writer and conference speaker with nearly four decades of experience in the communications industry; beginning his career in 1969 at The Los Angeles Herald Examiner in Los Angeles, CA, where he also fervently pursued Hippiedom. Hey, it was the sixties! 

He has worked at several newspapers throughout the country and has held nearly every position within the newspaper publishing business including, reporter, columnist, advertising account executive, and District Circulation Manager, as well as serving as publisher of his own tabloid that covered the New England region.

Bob is nearing the completion of a non-fiction book, Be Not Dismayed: A Story of Spiritual Triumph.

 


About Us

What is Patch?

Simply put, Patch is an innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what's going on near you.

We're a community-specific news, information and engagement platform driven by passionate and experienced new media professionals. Patch is revolutionizing the way neighbors connect with each other, their communities, and the national conversation.

We want to be the most trusted, comprehensive, and relevant news and information resource in your community. What can you do on Patch?

  • Keep up with news and events
  • Check out photos and videos from around town
  • Learn more about local businesses and the people behind them
  • Participate in discussions
  • Share your perspectives via our Local Voices blogging platform
  • Submit your own announcements, photos, and reviews

Who's Behind Patch?

Patch is run by professional editors, photographers, videographers, and salespeople who live in the regions they serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters. Patch also gets advice from our Advisory Board and from many members of the community.

We look forward to meeting you and hearing your stories. If you see us around town, don't be afraid to say hi and tell us what you want to see on Patch!

Where You Come In

We hope that our sites will strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can't do it without you. We've built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. So get to it! And if you're a business owner who wants to be listed, just let us know.

Giving Back

You can't truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with a program called "Give 5," through which we donate advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers. Want to know more? Email us at give5@patch.com.


Advisory Board

Phil Meyer

Phil Meyer

Phil Meyer is Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame in Journalism in the spring of 2008.  He joined the Journalism School in 1981 and served as Knight Chair in Journalism Professor from 1993-2008.  Prior to joining the school, he held a number of reporter and research positions at various media outlets. 

He has won numerous awards including the 2005 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism (with Scott Maier). He was named a Fellow of Society of Professional Journalists in 2005. In 2004, the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave him its Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award. And in 2000 he received the American Association for Public Opinion Research Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement.

Meyer is the author of several books including The Vanishing Newspaper:  Saving Journalism in the Information Age and Precision Journalism:  A Reporter’s Introduction to Social Science Methods.  Journalism Quarterly in 2000 listed this book as one of the 35 significant books of the 20th century in journalism and mass communication; and the American Association for Public Opinion Research, observing its 50th anniversary in 1996, listed it as one of 50 significant books on public opinion research.

He received his B.S. in technical journalism from Kansas State University and his M.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina.

Steven Berlin Johnson

Steven Berlin Johnson

Steven Berlin Johnson is a pioneer in the web world, as a co-founder of FEED, Plastic.com, and Outside.in, which was acquired by Patch in March of 2011. He also co-created Findings.com, which launched in late 2011. Steven was the 2009 Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at The Journalism School at Columbia University, and served for several years as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU’s Journalism School. He is a bestselling author of seven books, and won acclaim and a Newhouse School Mirror Award for his 2010 Time Magazine cover story, "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live." 

Speaking of Steven's editorial prowess, check out this video based on Steven's book, Where Good Ideas Come From, which was named one of the best books of 2010 by The Economist.

Brian Farnham

Brian Farnham, Founding Editor-in-Chief

Brian was Editor-in-Chief of Time Out New York magazine before coming to Patch. Before that he worked for a variety of publications both online and off, including Details magazine, New York Magazine, and the old, dearly departed Sidewalk.com. He has written for numerous publications, from the New York Times magazine to Harper's Bazaar. He graduated from Bowdoin College and got an MFA in creative writing at Columbia University so he could put his novel in a drawer with distinction. He lives in Manhattan with his beautiful wife, adorable son, angelic daughter and the world's most dog-like cat. He’s proud as hell of what the Patch team has built.

Ken Paulson

Ken Paulson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the First Amendment Center

Ken Paulson is president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and in Washington, D.C.

Previously, Paulson served as the editor and senior vice president/news of USA Today.  He is now a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors, writing about First Amendment issues and the news media.

Throughout his career, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states.

He also is past-president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news media leaders.

Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program “Speaking Freely,” seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation's campuses.  

He was an early advocate of making newspaper content available online, launching online newspapers in both Florida and New York in 1993.

For 12 years, Paulson was a regular guest lecturer at the American Press Institute, speaking to more than 5,000 journalists about First Amendment issues. He was honored with the API Lifetime Service Award. In 2010 and 2011, he served as chair of the PBS Editorial Standards Review Committee.

In 2007, Paulson was named fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists, “the highest honor SPJ bestows upon a journalist for extraordinary contributions to the profession.” In 2008, he  received the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award for Meritorious Service in Mass Communications from the Southern Regional Press Institute. He has also been elected to the Illini Publishing Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from American University.