Editor's Notebook: Patch.com Celebrates Launch of its 100th Site

At 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning, Patch.com launched its 100th hyper-local news site, the Morristown Patch. It's fitting that Patch hit the century mark in the Garden State. The network's first Patches sprouted here. The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch was one of the original five sites, along with Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, Summit and Westfield (plus a sixth site in Connecticut). Patch, happily, has clearly taken root.

As of today, Patch has 100 sites in 9 states: California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. Together, they have published more than 55,000 articles and nearly one million photos. The growth is a landmark achievement, not merely for the Patch.com network, which celebrated its first anniversary just a few months ago, but for journalism as a whole.

Patch's expansion and success, its reporting and readership, and its involvement in communities across the United States has demonstrated that hyperlocal digital journalism is not merely viable, but a valuable and valued resource for our readers. Our communities are vibrant. Patch provides news you want to know about the people you know (or want to know): sports, fundraisers, proms, volunteerism, policing, development, achievements and more. We have features and columns, video, humor and commentary.

This site's founding editor Lindsay Wilkes-Edrington, for example, produced a steady stream of critical, in-depth coverage of the school budget crisis earlier this year. Her work educated and energized the residents and provided a forum for informed debate. She published no fewer than 10 articles on the topic, which generated more than 350 comments from readers. By the end of Lindsay's time here in June, shortly after she accepted a promotion and transfer to Rhode Island, the Fanwood Borough Council passed a resolution in honor of her work.

Patch is more than a microscope. We report on how national and state news affects local residents, and from the beginning, we have had an eye for local interests. The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch was the first New Jersey publication to report on Fanwood's Derrick Caracter being drafted by the NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. We covered President Obama's visit to New Jersey regarding his small business initiatives and interviewed local business owners for their take. We also provided a comprehensive overview of Gov. Chris Christie's veto of nearly $7.5 million of family planning funds, and how that action will likely affect local residents. 

Perhaps most important, we make it easy for you to participate and join the discussion. You can comment on every story, and you can reach our reporters and editors at the click of a button. Readers can post free announcements, event listings, reviews and photos. The site offers a ready resource to learn about local businesses and organizations through our free, comprehensive directory, which lists nearly every business, nonprofit, religious and governmental organization in our towns.

Patch recognizes, as well, that it, too, is a member of the community. Our writers and editors live here. We have a singular sense of purpose to strengthen our towns, by providing sharp, accurate, incisive journalism, by providing articles of human interest, and by volunteering our own time and resources to give back.

Last January, for example, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch helped organize the township and borough's first "Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service." More than 500 residents took part in more than 40 volunteer activities; even greater participation is expected next year. And today, Tuesday, Aug. 17, Patch editors across the country are taking part in Patch.com's inaugural "Give5" event, during which we are "taking 5" from reporting to "give 5" as volunteers to community organizations. As for me, today I will be putting in an extra shift for the Fanwood Rescue Squad, of which I am member. (Hopefully I will not be seeing you.)

We at Scotch Plains-Fanwood Patch are proud to have been a founding site of the Patch network – a news organization committed to delivering factual news and information important to our readers and the community.  If you've got news, are making news, or know someone worth talking about, we look forward to hearing from you as we continue to grow. Thank you for your support and your readership.