Joseph Markman, Patch Staff

Email: Joseph.Markman@patch.com

Phone: 781-413-6157 Hometown: Middletown, RI Birthday: Christmas Eve

I officially started my life as a journalist during my sophomore year at the University of Rhode Island when I began covering school committee meetings for class and writing a weekly political column in the school paper. But long before that, my curiosity about the world unwittingly heralded a love of reporting. I was especially concerned with geography, the environment and animals. After studying wildlife biology for a year, I switched to journalism and English and decided I wanted to write for a living.

In 2008, I finished college, moved to Quincy, MA and began studying for a master's degree in journalism at Boston University. There I interned at The Patriot Ledger, where I wrote about state and local government, as well as a variety of feature stories. To finish the program, I spent a semester in Washington, DC, writing for both the New Hampshire Union Leader and the Los Angeles Times.

My focus has been on government reporting, but my curiosity and love of writing extends to anything and everything. I've learned that interesting stories can be found in the most unlikely of places and that new ideas can sprout from the most likely of topics.

I'm very excited to learn as much as I can about Braintree, more every day, and report on stories that are important to residents while engaging with everyone from the mayor to T-ballers.

I'm joined in my efforts by the growing Patch team in the Boston area, including a regional editor who also supervises other nearby town editors. Freelancers will also pitch in, contributing articles and columns on a range of topics.

Find me in town at all sorts of events and meetings, and also hunkered down at Panera Bread, Thayer Public Library, etc., working in the field. Other than that I'll probably be watching movies or HBO series, reading or keeping myself up-to-date on the manueverings in our nation's capital.  

Please say hello if you see me around Braintree!

Twitter: BraintreePatch

Facebook: Facebook.com/BraintreePatch

Your 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:

I am unaffiliated with any political party, though I do vote. My only political biases, which I work hard to maintain, are against corruption and waste.

RELIGION:

I grew up attending a Congregational Church with my parents and two older sisters. We lived right next to the church and spent much of our time exploring its rooms and the surrounding woods. Later, in high school, I decided against confirmation. I haven't been a regular worshipper anywhere else since, though I do believe there is some form of higher power. What else could power warm, candle-lit, Christmas Eve memories?

HOT BUTTON ISSUES:

One of the most pressing topics in Braintree is the recent switch to a mayor and town council form of government. The switch has not only made for personnel changes, but also legal ones as the town's administrators work to turn bylways into ordinances. Braintree has a thriving business community which helps keeps taxes relatively low, and so anything in that realm is always a hot topic, especially continued expansion and evolution at the South Shore Plaza and attempts at revitalizing the Granite Plaza shopping center. Also, improvements at the last stop of the Red Line and ongoing discussion of the schools' test scores and how those tests are implemented are ripe for examination. Please send me an email if you think I've missed something especially obvious or particularly interesting to you.