Courtney Elko, Patch Staff

Basics

E-mail: courtney.elko(at)patch.com

Phone: 610-533-6321

Hometown: Media, PA

Birthday: Jan. 19

Bio

Raised in Havertown and Media, Courtney has lived her entire life in Delaware County. A graduate of Cardinal OHara High School and the University of Delaware, Courtney is excited to now be covering the news in her hometown.

Courtney began her professional career as a staff writer at a local, community newspaper in Salem County, NJ. While there she wrote stories about farming, politics and homicides. One summer she even participated in the frying pan toss contest at the Salem County Fair. From there, she moved ever so slightly north and wrote for the sister newspaper in Gloucester County, New Jersey.

Courtney decided it was time to move on from print journalism and moved into the online journalism field. She became a Web editor at NBC10.com in Philadelphia. While there, she created the online version of what was said on the television newscasts and put the news on the station Web site. She wrote and edited hundreds of stories and created numerous entertainment photo galleries, like "Guess which Saved By the Bell characters birthday is today?"

Most recently, Courtney worked for an online media company managing Associated Press stories and images for news websites across the country.

Courtney likes to read, work on her novel and watch bad reality TV in her spare time. She loves to travel and take vacations to the beach each summer. She also has a soft spot for animals, especially dogs. She was a part time dog walker/pet sitter and still does it occasionally. Courtney is excited about Media Patch and hopes to hear from many residents.

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 because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics: How would you describe your political beliefs? Are you registered with a certain party?

I like to vote for the person not the party, however I am a registered Democrat.

Religion: How religious would you consider yourself? Roman Catholic.

Local Hot-Button Issues: What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

I think all issues concerning Media and the surrounding areas are important to residents living there. Whether it be the education system, taxes, land development or the football score, all of those issues are important to the residents.