The Newsroom of Catonsville Patch

I've worked in a lot of newsrooms over the years. The very first one was at the Frederick News-Post, which was one of my college internships and also my hometown newspaper.

They really are odd places, filled with messy journalist desks, volumes of reference material (phone books, crisscross directories, old documents) and lots of computers. The sound of the police scanner is constant in the background. And there's usually a lot of yelling across the room between reporters and editors.

This is the first job I've had where I work from home. I do miss the quirkiness of a newsroom, but I enjoy getting up in the morning and going straight to the coffee pot instead of getting ready for the morning commute.

But a drawback of not working in a newsroom is people in the community can't stop by. In every single newsroom at which I've worked, a journalist was always expected to stop what he or she was doing and visit with any citizen who walked in the door. People who have lived in a community for a long time see this as a right. And, it should be.

Community journalism is at its best when people in the community feel entitled to take part in their local publication. But since Patch's model is more the journalism of the future, we're not betting on newsrooms looking like they do now.

So my 'office' is my house, but it's also everywhere in Catonsville. I'm out in the community every day covering events, doing interviews and meeting sources.This is the best part about my job, but I also miss being interrupted by people just stopping by my office.

So I've started something recently. I tweet or post on Facebook where I'll be working. I call them my office hours.

While I may schedule interviews during this time, it's meant to be a time where people can just stop by. There are so many loyal and great readers of Catonsville Patch and I want to meet more of you.

I tend to work out in the community on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'm often at or on Frederick Road. Sometimes I also work at the. And I also venture over to Panera Bread on Baltimore National Pike.

So if you ever see me posting where I'll be working, that's your cue! Feel free to stop by, or if you don't have that much flexibility, feel free to email me and ask me to let you know ahead of time where I'll be working that week.

I look forward to seeing you soon!