I’m thrilled to deliver some great news: In a few weeks I’ll start in a community-building role at Philly.com, and I’m freaking pumped.
I’m a Pennsylvania boy by roots. I grew up in State College, attended Penn State, then spent the first four years of my career at The Patriot-News in Harrisburg. I know to never order a cheesesteak outside Pennsylvania, I was at The Vet to see Curt Schilling pitch a shutout in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series, and I grew up dreaming of being a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Well, this is even better. Philly.com is the website for both the Inquirer and the Daily News, and I’ve witnessed support from the publisher on down to do great, innovative things with the site. I’ll be fortunate to have some say over that direction, and will do so in a role that perfectly captures what made me fall in love with online journalism: Collaboration and community. I can’t imagine a role better suited to my abilities and passions.
And yes, a familiar face will occasionally be there. Jim Brady, the man who brought us TBD, is consulting there part-time. There’s no one I’d rather be working with…again. Jim also deserves major, major thanks for taking it upon himself, at no one’s request, to be a talent agent for ex-TBDers (part 1 and part 2). If you’re reading this and you’re a hiring manager, please hire one of them. You will not regret it.
At the risk of getting too sappy, I was blissfully overwhelmed by the support of the Twitter community after news of the layoffs. Didn’t matter if it was a job lead or just a quick chin-up message; it felt like everyone had my back in some way. I hope to somehow return the favor someday to everyone who helped out.
To my new and soon-to-be friends in Philly, can’t wait to see you. To those who helped me through this whole thing, I offer you this: