Basics:

• E-mail: josephp@patch.com
• Phone: 631-276-0234
• Residence: Riverhead
• Birthday: Aug. 5
• Twitter: @RiverheadPatch

Bio: I've always enjoyed writing - which is why I spent my first two years of undergrad at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire as an English major. But the communities we live in interest me more - which is why my Medieval Literature course drove me to Sociology and Communications. It wasn't until a professor suggested that I write for the school newspaper my senior year that I found journalism to be the perfect outlet for both.

Following an office job after undergrad that required a suit, tie, an hour train ride, and cold calls, I decided to cold call some local newspaper editors and started freelancing for the Daily News Transcript (Norwood, Mass.). The chance I was given has always led me to believe that everyone deserves at least one shot to prove their worth. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of my opportunity and decided to pursue an education in journalism while freelancing. I graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 2009, where I received a degree in Print and Multimedia Journalism.

At Emerson, I was given opportunities with GlobalPost.com and BreakingNews.com, which led to reporting jobs with a couple of (now-defunct) news websites on the North Fork. My fiancee and I fell in love with the area, despite the roller coaster we've been on since moving here: I held seven different jobs (including a movie extra - I make a brief appearance in The Romantics!) in a year. In addition to working like a gypsy, I've also won a softball championship in Greenport, made my fantasy baseball league playoffs, won my fantasy football league and learned to enjoy the taste of wine. In my spare time I enjoy watching football with my wife and dogs, riding my bike, reading nonfiction, golfing, and building things.

Oh, and feel free to call me Joe. I've heard enough of Joe Six-Pack and Joe the Plumber and Average Joe over time that in print I at least prefer to see Joseph. It's the small things that make me feel good.

Beliefs:

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible and human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal certain key beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

This disclosure is not a license for our editors to inject these beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will force us to be ever mindful to write, report, and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you, the user, ever think you see evidence that we failed in this mission, we wholeheartedly invite you to let us know.

Politics

* How would you describe your political beliefs?

My mother was never very political, but leaned Democrat. My father is a small business owner and is more conservative. I'm registered as a 'blank' and think no matter the issue, one side is never completely right or wrong. Finding a balance is the difficult part.

Religion

* How religious would you say you are? Casual, observant, devout, non-religious?

I was raised in a casually observant, Irish-Italian Catholic family and attended eight years of Catholic school. But my wife is more observant than I am and was raised Protestant. We've found a non-denominational church in Riverhead that's a great fit for both of us.