E-mail: melissa.lattman@patch.com

Phone: (727) 424-7918

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Bio: Melissa is the editor of Largo Patch. She graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a M.A. in Journalism in 2007. Melissa started as a reporter in New Hampshire covering for two years the community where she lived.

Then the Sunshine State and warmer weather called. Melissa freelanced for  a couple of Pinellas County weekly publications before finding Patch in August 2011.  For 11 months she contributed to various Pinellas Patch sites and served as Guest Editor for Largo.

Before pursuing the dream since second-grade of being a journalist, Melissa worked for a computer services company and taught sixth-grade.

Sunde Farquhar is Local Editor for Palm Harbor Patch. Prior to joining Patch, she spent 16 years working as a journalist at TV stations in Tampa, Seattle, and Knoxville, TN. Some of the positions she's held include Managing Editor at Bay News 9 in Tampa, Assignment Manager at Northwest Cable News in Seattle, Assignment Editor at Northwest Cable News in Seattle, Newscast Producer at ABC Action News (WFTS-TV) in Tampa and WATE-TV in Knoxville, TN, and Independent Newspaper Publisher in Knoxville, TN. 

Sunde graduated from Seattle University with a bachelor's degree in Communications-Journalism.

In her spare time, Sunde enjoys camping, hiking, and traveling with her husband. They also have a Chow Chow named Daisy.

Chris is a Regional Editor for Patch in South Florida. His coverge area includes Sarasota, Bradenton and Hillsborough County. He works with Local Editors at Patch to ensure that visitors are getting news, events and information that matter to them and their daily lives. He is a proud graduate of UCF in Orlando, Florida.  He is also an award winning news photographer who has also worked as a journalist and newsroom manager for the last 10 years. Chris has worked in television, print and online news throughout his career and is passionate about telling stories that are useful to the audience.  Before joining Patch, Chris was the Audience Editor for TBO.com in Tampa, Florida, where he was in charge of the online production staff and managed planning stories and coverage for the website.

Email
: cherlene.willis@patch.com

Phone
: 727-385-1999

Hometown
: Orange County, CA

Birthday: Jan. 20, 1984

Bio: I am a multi-media journalist. I've worked for local NBC and CBS affiliates, documentary companies, and contributed video and content for an Emmy Award winning website. I began my career in journalism when I was 19 years old, working as a news production assistant for KELO TV in Sioux Falls, SD. In the past 7 years I worked my way up from running prompter to anchoring the evening news. I spent time with KELO TV in Sioux Falls, SD, KVLY TV & KXJB TV in Fargo, ND. I look forward to my new role as Editor of Gulfport Patch.

Email: Linda.Hersey@Patch.com

Phone: 727-480-4163

Hometown: Miami, FL

Birthday: Sept. 28, 1960

Listen to Podcast Interview with Linda on Internet Radio:

http://remmelwellness.com/filechute/EntNYou1.14.11.mp3

Bio: Linda Hersey is Assistant Regional Editor, overseeing five Southwest Florida Patch sites:

• Old Northeast-St. Petersburg
• Gulfport
• Pinellas Beaches
• Sarasota
• Bradenton

John Andrew "Andy" Warrener began writing for Dunedin Patch in 2010 specializing in sports reporting.

In addition to writing for Patch in South Florida, The Tampa Bay Times, and The Laker, Andy is a contributor to realfootball365.com, countrymusicpride.com and poetry.com. He is also working on his first novel.

Andy graduated from The University of Central Florida where he trained in the performing arts. That education, combined with his passion for writing, inspired him to start his career in script writing. After college, Andy ventured to Los Angeles where he pursued both acting and screenwriting. He and his writing partner have written six feature-length screenplays, four of which are critically acclaimed. They sold their first script to Hero Pictures in 2006 and are currently in talks with the Epix Channel for development of a four-part TV series.

Andy resides in northwest Tampa and covers news from Spring Hill to Sarasota.

Lee Diekemper is a veteran reporter whose career spans three decades, covering news and sports in Kansas City, Chicago and the Tampa Bay region, where his articles on prep games have been published in the Tampa Tribune. Diekemper is co-founder and managing editor of the popular NFL blog, JoeBucsFan.com. He covers high school sports for the Old Northeast Patch.

Cathy Salustri writes about Florida from her south Pinellas county home. She and her dog, Calypso, explore the state on foot, bike, and kayak. She writes for the Gulfport weekly paper, the Gabber, as well as several online publications. Cathy has a background in broadcast journalism as well as public relations; currently, she's working on her thesis for a master's degree in Florida Studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. She's an avid kayaker, student pilot, and aspiring knitter.

Jeff Rosenfield covers school sports and profiles athletes for the Old Northeast Patch. He has a background as a blogger and has contributed to several local and national sports Web sites. He is an avid sports fan and transplanted New Englander. His professional experience includes sales and management. 

Larry Prescott is executive director of Grand Villa of Largo. He writes Largo Patch's monthly column on seniors and the sandwich generation; Senior Sandwich: Caring for Caregivers and Seniors. 

Shelly is the Post-Adoption Coordinator for Dunedin Doggie Rescue, and  works as a Medical Assisting Instructor.  She is originally from Indiana, but found the weather displeasing, to say the least.  She has been in Florida since 2009 and has loved every minute.  Shelly often uses her free time to spend it with her Labrador, Kaiah and Grayson who is a big mix.  They often frequent the wonderful doggie friendly places in Dunedin, along with helping and fostering for Dunedin Doggie Rescue.  Shelly enjoys helping all the doggies that need homes find a family.

Shelly currently writes the column Rescue Me

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.

Jeff Jarvis is the associate professor and director of the interactive journalism program at the City University of New York’s new Graduate School of Journalism.  He also blogs about media and news at Buzzmachine.com; is consulting editor of Daylife; writes a media column for the Guardian, and consults for media companies.

Prior to his current responsibilities, Jarvis held positions including president and creative director of Advance.net; creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly; Sunday editor and associated publisher of the New York Daily News; TV critic for TV Guide and People; a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner; assistant city editor and reporter for the Chicago Tribune and reporter for Chicago Today.

Jarvis is the author of What Would Google Do?

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 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 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.