When To Go To The Scene

Patch Practices: Patch reporters must be able to manage their time efficiently, which includes knowing when to cover a story from home and when to travel to the scene of an unfolding event. GO PATCH

Public Records

Patch Practices: California editor Courtney Teague and Connecticut regional manager Brian McCready weigh in on using public records requests and publicly available documents to find stories, simplify work and improve reporting. GO PATCH

Inequity and Bias

Patch Practices: How can we identify inequity and eliminate bias from reporting? We hear from Patch editors Meagan Falcon, Skyla Luckey, Sam Mercado and Marcus Garner. GO PATCH

Data Reporting

Patch Practices: Patch Data Editor Rich Scinto explains how to find and understand data, and how to use it to report local news. GO PATCH

Covering Extreme Weather

Patch Practices: Knowing when to act, who to ask, and how to thrive under pressure is key to covering extreme weather in a worsening climate. We hear from editors Mike Carraggi, D’Ann Lawrence White and Charles Woodman on weather best practices. GO PATCH

Reporting On Protests

Whether it's a small protest on a local issue or a massive demonstration in the streets over a national one, here is what you need to know about covering protests. GO PATCH

Crime Victims

Where there is crime, there are victims of crime. And we must report on both. Here is advice on how to do that in a responsible manner. GO PATCH

Patch Election Playbook

This manual contains everything an editor or manager needs to know to plan and execute local election coverage at Patch. GO PATCH

Local Election Candidate Profile Forms

Patch readers tend to be highly interested in local elections. Gathering and publishing candidate profile information for local elections is table stakes in keeping a community informed. GO PATCH

Using Social Media To Cover Elections

Social media is an essential part of the campaign process and fodder for news stories. Learn how to use various social media tools to produce stories and track candidates. GO PATCH

Reporting On Opinion Polls

When reporting on polls, we can convey false impressions or report unreliable polling info if we're not careful. In this session, you’ll learn what to look out for, how to write accurately about polls, and how to avoid common mistakes. GO PATCH

Campaign Finance

Money is the mother’s milk of politics. You can’t understand how the system really works unless you know who contributes to candidates and issue campaigns, what they hope to get in return, and how their money is spent. GO PATCH