My journalism career started as an intern for the Baltimore Evening Sun. My first full-time newspaper job was in Fort Lauderdale at the Sun-Sentinel, where I covered small business and the boating industry. Later, I moved on to Jackson, MS as a business writer for the Clarion-Ledger. I worked for the Charlotte Observer for four years in its business news department, where I covered the utility industry and small business.

I'm a veteran journalist who has lived in Decatur since 2007.

I like living in the Decatur-Avondale Estates area because both towns are walkable -- and joggable -- communities with a sense of history and a distinct respect for trees and green space. I serve on the homeowner’s association board for the 335 West Ponce condo building in downtown Decatur.

I have worked for newspapers across the Southeast as an editor and writer and worked for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 1990 to early 2011.

Kevin Madigan began writing in his early teens, when he helped publish a magazine while at boarding school in England. Since moving to Georgia in the late 1980s, he has written for various publications, including Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta Music Guide and Creative Loafing, where he was the Online Music Editor. Madigan contributed to the launch of the local CitySearch.com and wrote a regular column for Atlanta Style & Design. He is also a licensed Spanish translator and interpreter who earned his certification from the Department of Modern Languages at Georgia State University. 

Hunt took a keen interest in writing at a young age and brings more than 20 years of professional journalism experience to Patch. Since September 2010, he has served as the Local Editor for Smyrna-Vinings Patch. Prior to that, he served as the Sports Editor of The Sunday Paper located in West Midtown. Born at Georgia Baptist Hospital (now Atlanta Medical Center, located just on the fringe of Midtown), Hunt was raised in Atlanta and has worked at several news outlets across the city and region. A former on-air personality for what is now known as mtvU, Hunt has enjoyed stints behind the mic in radio and television, but recognizes that his true expressive love is the written word. A graduate of both The Lovett School and North Carolina State University, Hunt is excited about the new opportunities here at Midtown Patch. Hunt lives in Midtown, doesn't take himself too seriously and sometimes talks in what has been described as a mumble-drawl-lisp.

Gail Moore has a love of writing borne from a reading addiction. She is a graphic artist by trade and through publishing, editing, writing about and photographing her community, a not-so-reluctant journalist. Raised in Atlanta, she moved her family to the Grayson area in 1996 and considers it home. She and her fiancé live in the Archer school district with their 3 daughters and a Chiweenie.

Connie's journalism career has encompassed newspaper, radio and television, with stints as a business reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB Radio and numerous TV positions before becoming an anchor for CNN Headline News in 2001. Connie is a full-time instructor at Georgia Perimeter College where she teaches communication and journalism courses. She is writing a book about customer service and its importance in corporate America called, "No Problem" and a biography
about the late actor Heath Ledger.

Melissa grew up in the Patch town of Lilburn and currently resides in another Patch town, Loganville.  As a life long resident of Gwinnett County, she is enjoying getting to spend more time in the local communities and working with local businesses.  She comes from a sales and marketing background in the music industry. 

Interested in advertising on Patch?  She can be reached at melissa.collins@patch.com or (678) 575-8499.

Barry Garron has been an entertainment journalist for 30 years. A past president of the Television Critics Assn., he served as Chief TV critic for The Hollywood Reporter for more than a decade. He is a regular contributor to emmy magazine and has written for TV Guide and Broadcasting & Cable.

Jack Sartain is a native Atlantan and a DeKalb resident since 1960. He is a retired health services industry professional with three advanced academic degrees. His present community activities, both professional and as a volunteer, are focused on the improvement of the economic profile of the county through several avenues, one of which is the development of "microenterprises" involving many creative industries.

He lives near Stone Mountain in a forested area designated as a bird and animal sanctuary. In 1972 he founded the DeKalb Council for the Arts, Inc., and is on several proprietary and not-for-profit boards and services, some of which are international in scope. He is a certified practitioner in several professional areas and is CEO of two small business enterprises. In addition to his business and community development interests, he is a professional trumpet player and tenor soloist.  

Bill is the former Public Information Officer for Forsyth County Government, a veteran news reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a freelancer for Associated Press. He now owns his own political consulting firm  and is the proud grandfather of Alex, Caleb and Mason.  

Lizbeth Dison has over twenty years experience in marketing and communications, primarily in the cable industry. She is currently vice president, media and analyst relations with Calysto Communications, focusing within the cable and broadband industry. She is also director of corporate communications for Orotek Inc., where she manages all aspects of marketing and public relations, including strategic planning, collateral design, media outreach and Web site management both for Orotek and its marketing clients. In addition, Lizbeth is a partner in Visual Ink LLC, an independent film company.

Her resume includes positions with Disney/ABC Networks, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications. Lizbeth has also worked with several start-ups for which she developed and managed strategic plans for company launches and branding activities. Lizbeth's marketing and PR background touches on all aspects of the cable industry, including experience with programmers and software and equipment vendors, as well as work for the system, regional and corporate offices of cable operators.

Lizbeth has worked with several not-for-profit organizations (NPOs), including the Atlanta Opera and the Hall County Humane Society and currently handles PR for two regional sci-fi fan conventions as well as for the Tucker Business Association and The Rotary Club of Stone Mountain. She holds bachelor’s degrees in both English and history, has completed graduate course work in history and is currently co-producing an independent film filming in Atlanta. She is working on her first novel as well as her second collaborative screenplay. In her spare time she works on a paranormal research team investigating reported hauntings and other unexplained events.

Longtime journalist Diane Loupe lives in the City of Decatur and writes news and features for Patch.

Phil Meyer is Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was inducted into the North Carolina Hall of Fame in Journalism in the spring of 2008.  He joined the Journalism School in 1981 and served as Knight Chair in Journalism Professor from 1993-2008.  Prior to joining the school, he held a number of reporter and research positions at various media outlets. 

He has won numerous awards including the 2005 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism (with Scott Maier). He was named a Fellow of Society of Professional Journalists in 2005. In 2004, the Newspaper Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication gave him its Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award. And in 2000 he received the American Association for Public Opinion Research Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement.

Meyer is the author of several books including The Vanishing Newspaper:  Saving Journalism in the Information Age and Precision Journalism:  A Reporter’s Introduction to Social Science Methods.  Journalism Quarterly in 2000 listed this book as one of the 35 significant books of the 20th century in journalism and mass communication; and the American Association for Public Opinion Research, observing its 50th anniversary in 1996, listed it as one of 50 significant books on public opinion research.

He received his B.S. in technical journalism from Kansas State University and his M.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina.

Steven Berlin Johnson is a pioneer in the web world, as a co-founder of FEED, Plastic.com, and Outside.in, which was acquired by Patch in March of 2011. He also co-created Findings.com, which launched in late 2011. Steven was the 2009 Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence at The Journalism School at Columbia University, and served for several years as a Distinguished Writer in Residence at NYU’s Journalism School. He is a bestselling author of seven books, and won acclaim and a Newhouse School Mirror Award for his 2010 Time Magazine cover story, "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live." 

Speaking of Steven's editorial prowess, check out this video based on Steven's book, Where Good Ideas Come From, which was named one of the best books of 2010 by The Economist.

Brian was Editor-in-Chief of Time Out New York magazine before coming to Patch. Before that he worked for a variety of publications both online and off, including Details magazine, New York Magazine, and the old, dearly departed Sidewalk.com. He has written for numerous publications, from the New York Times magazine to Harper's Bazaar. He graduated from Bowdoin College and got an MFA in creative writing at Columbia University so he could put his novel in a drawer with distinction. He lives in Manhattan with his beautiful wife, adorable son, angelic daughter and the world's most dog-like cat. He’s proud as hell of what the Patch team has built.

Ken Paulson is president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and in Washington, D.C.

Previously, Paulson served as the editor and senior vice president/news of USA Today.  He is now a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors, writing about First Amendment issues and the news media.

Throughout his career, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states.

He also is past-president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news media leaders.

Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program “Speaking Freely,” seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation's campuses.  

He was an early advocate of making newspaper content available online, launching online newspapers in both Florida and New York in 1993.

For 12 years, Paulson was a regular guest lecturer at the American Press Institute, speaking to more than 5,000 journalists about First Amendment issues. He was honored with the API Lifetime Service Award. In 2010 and 2011, he served as chair of the PBS Editorial Standards Review Committee.

In 2007, Paulson was named fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists, “the highest honor SPJ bestows upon a journalist for extraordinary contributions to the profession.” In 2008, he  received the Robert S. Abbott Memorial Award for Meritorious Service in Mass Communications from the Southern Regional Press Institute. He has also been elected to the Illini Publishing Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois.

He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from American University.