Thank You For Helping Patch Grow In Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A little more than a year ago, Patch entered the Birmingham media market, and we were thrown into local news immediately with the special Senate election to fill Jeff Sessions' seat. In a local story that garnered national attention, Patch brought you the stories related to the election and everything surrounding the upset victory by Sen. Doug Jones over Republican challenger Roy Moore.

Now, a year later, Patch is still bringing Birmingham and surrounding communities hyper-local news ranging from school news, sports, politics and crime - with features on local personalities, local businesses and everything in between.

With six Patches in the Birmingham area - Birmingham, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Pelham, Trussville and Vestavia Hills - we have seen our readership grow steadily throughout our first year. And we want to grow more.

In 2018, our newsletter subscription numbers have grown more than 50 percent. If you are not already a subscriber click here to receive updates each morning on news in your area.

Here are just a few of the most-read stories on our Patches in the Birmingham metro posted in August:

• Missing Daughter of Bama, NFL Star David Palmer Found
  
• Petition Under Way To Oppose ALDOT's Cahaba Beach Road Project
  
• Health Department Confirms Zika Virus Case In Pelham
  
• Birmingham Police Charge Couple With Double Murder In Roebuck
  
• Cahaba Heights: Bigger, Busier, Better?

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I'm Michael Seale. I am a lifelong resident of Birmingham. I went to school here, I work here, I am raising my family here and I can say there is honestly nowhere else on the planet I would rather live. And through more than two decades working in media, I have seen how much hyper-local news is needed in all of the communities that make up the Birmingham metro area.

So, what exactly is hyper-local news? It means we are not just telling you what is going on in the world, we are telling you how what is going on in the world that affects you, your neighbors and your community. It includes all of those issues in your community that prompt you to wonder, “Why don’t more people know about this?” It means what you read about on Patch will be relevant to you and your specific community. And it means Patch will actually be a part of the community.

The catch

In order to make this work, you must be as much a part of Patch as I am. This is what makes Patch different from other news sources. The news, the events, the issues we cover are generated in large part by you, the reader. So in bringing Patch to your community, I am not just showing you a news site, I am inviting you to be a part of a new way to share and receive your news.

I also want to remind our readers that you can post on Patch. It's easy to sign up for a free user profile and post articles, events, jobs, and announcements. And the "rules of Patch" are easy to follow: "no abusive content, no commercial spam, keep it local, and be awesome."

Here's another fun fact about Patch: Did you know that Patch is among the 100 biggest websites in the United States? Patch ranks 91st on the most viewed websites in the country, according to Alexa.

Many news websites are limiting access to free articles, but Patch articles and events by our journalists and our users are always free to view.

We're thrilled you've made Patch a part of your life. Thank you so much for your support and readership.

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch