'Patch Pilot' To Continue Through 2017 At Miami University

Dear Oxford-Miami Patch reader:

Happy New Year and thanks for reading this Patch site. As the new year begins, we wanted to provide an update on what we’ve been calling our “Patch Pilot.”

As you might know, Miami University journalism students provided the content for this site all fall semester. The 14 students in Journalism 412 (Public Affairs Reporting) – plus a few students in other courses – produced around 150 stories about Oxford and Miami since last August. If you’ve been a regular reader, you know they regularly wrote about Miami – including coverage of Miami’s new president, Greg Crawford; dining hall woes, sexual assault, Greek life, campus construction, medical marijuana policy, and lawsuits and investments involving the university. They also wrote about life in Oxford, with stories about plans to move city hall, build an aquatic center, expand the Oxford trails, and open a new elementary school. Crime and conflict got a fair amount of attention too, with stories about a double shooting on North Campus Avenue, a car accident on College Avenue, an assault at Brick Street bar and a former Butler County resident facing the death penalty this May. Politics also demanded coverage, with our Patchers covering Donald J. Trump Jr.’s campaign rally and Butler County election day results.

As the semester came to an end on Dec. 9, you may have noticed our flow of new stories slowed considerably. But we are happy to report that we’ll have new posts relatively soon, as students in a winter term and spring semester class will both write for Patch. We hope to maintain the site through the summer and into the fall.

As the inaugural instructors for the “Patch class,” we were thrilled to discover enough news to keep 14 students busy – too busy if you ask some of them. We were happy to fill a void left with the (near) shuttering of The Oxford Press. Patch folks in New York were happy with the results too, calling our site one of the best written and a “top 10” for local content. They are now considering expansion in southwest Ohio, but happy to let the Oxford-Miami page continue as its only academic-partner site.

We thank you for reading and invite you to help support our Patch Pilot by posting your own news, sending us story ideas and tips, sharing our stories on social media – and, of course, continuing to read.

Happy New Year,

Patricia Gallagher Newberry
Miami University senior lecturer in journalism
newberpg@miamioh.edu

Chris Graves
Cincinnati Enquirer reporter and Miami University adjunct professor
cgraves312@gmail.com

Photo: Chris Graves, left, and Patricia Gallagher Newberry, right, meet with Patch National Editor Todd Richissin in New York in July to plan the Oxford-Miami Patch page. -- Contributed photo