The Patriot-News
Encyclopedia
The Patriot-News is the largest daily newspaper
serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
metropolitan area
. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily/Sunday circulation in the United States
. It has been owned by Advance Publications
since 1947.
The official birth of The Patriot-News is celebrated as March 4, 1854, but its history goes back to December 1820, when it was a weekly newspaper named The Pennsylvania Intelligencer.
magazine. The newspaper has won the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
's Keystone Press Award Division I Sweepstakes - which goes to the large metro newspaper that wins the most journalism awards - in 2004, 2006 and 2010, competing against the newspapers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown as the smallest paper in that division.
The year 2004 also began a run in the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Newspaper of the Year awards which has been unmatched in the contest's history. The Patriot-News has been either first or second place as the state's Newspaper of the Year for seven years in a row - with first place wins in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. The contest includes more than 50 newspapers from across the state including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The newspaper's reporters have won the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Distinguished Writing Award multiple times. The first award went to reporter Jim Lewis in 2001, 2004 and 2005. Reporter Ford Turner won second place in 2008 and first place in 2010. Staff photographer Sean Simmers won second place in PNA's Distinguished Writing Award in 2010.
In 2007, public watchdog reporter Jan Murphy
won a First Amendment award from the Associated Press Managing Editors for her stories uncovering profligate spending at PHEAA, the state agency that gives college loans to students. That same year, reporter Ford Turner won the APME's Public Service award for uncovering an unusually high rate of cancer among residents of a small neighborhood of Selinsgrove, Pa. Murphy also won first prize in investigative reporting from the National Education Writers Association for her stories on PHEAA spending.
Investigative reporter Pete Shellem
, who died in 2009, received widespread recognition for his work in freeing the innocent from prison. Shellem's stories in The Patriot-News resulted in the release of four people who had been convicted of murder - Patty Carbone who had served 11 years, Steven Crawford who had served 28 years, Barry Laughman who had served 16 years, David Gladden who had served 12 years. His reporting also freed Charles Dubs, who had served five years on a rape conviction. In the New York Times obituary for Shellem, Barry Scheck
, co-director of the Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
at Yeshiva University, called him "a rare, one-man journalism innocence project."
Crime reporter and Penn State grad Sara Ganim began gaining national attention in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal
after Sandusky's indictment in November, 2011. Ganim had written a substantial piece in March, 2011, when few others were covering the story. Among other follow-ups, she then spoke to two of the mothers of alleged victims for the paper in the immediate wake of the indictment. “You can credit the Patriot-News with giving me the time a reporter needs to cover this kind of story,” she said to a New York media columnist who specially noted her coverage. The columnist wrote that Kim Jones, reporting at Penn State for WFAN
, "also mentioned Ganim’s stellar work" and that Jason McIntyre of the sports blog The Big Lead
among others had been singling out Ganim -- and her P-N colleague Ben Jones, in McIntyre's case -- on Twitter
.
The World Association of Newspapers Young Reader Prize for Newspaper in Education in 2007 was awarded to The Patriot-News for its SchoolHouse News program with the Harrisburg (Pa.) School District.
As of January 2011, the newsstand price is 75¢ daily and $2.00 for the Sunday edition.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
metropolitan area
Harrisburg metropolitan area
The Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area , as defined the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley, anchored by the cities of Harrisburg and Carlisle...
. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily/Sunday circulation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has been owned by Advance Publications
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse, Jr. It is named after the Staten Island Advance, the first newspaper owned by the Newhouse family...
since 1947.
The official birth of The Patriot-News is celebrated as March 4, 1854, but its history goes back to December 1820, when it was a weekly newspaper named The Pennsylvania Intelligencer.
Awards & honors
Despite its relatively modest size, The Patriot-News has consistently won top state journalism awards in competition with Pennsylvania's largest newspapers. In 2003, the paper won the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's G. Richard Dew award for its coverage of the attempted sale of Hershey Foods. In 2004, the newspaper was named as one of "10 That Do It Right" by Editor & PublisherEditor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
magazine. The newspaper has won the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association is a trade group serving newspapers in Pennsylvania. The PNA seeks to "advance the interests of Pennsylvania newspapers" and protect the "free and independent press." It represents the newspaper industry in governmental affairs and provides public educational...
's Keystone Press Award Division I Sweepstakes - which goes to the large metro newspaper that wins the most journalism awards - in 2004, 2006 and 2010, competing against the newspapers in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown as the smallest paper in that division.
The year 2004 also began a run in the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Newspaper of the Year awards which has been unmatched in the contest's history. The Patriot-News has been either first or second place as the state's Newspaper of the Year for seven years in a row - with first place wins in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010. The contest includes more than 50 newspapers from across the state including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The newspaper's reporters have won the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Distinguished Writing Award multiple times. The first award went to reporter Jim Lewis in 2001, 2004 and 2005. Reporter Ford Turner won second place in 2008 and first place in 2010. Staff photographer Sean Simmers won second place in PNA's Distinguished Writing Award in 2010.
In 2007, public watchdog reporter Jan Murphy
Jan Murphy
Jan Murphy is a prominent journalist in Pennsylvania, working for The Patriot-News.In 2007, she and colleague Craig Staudenmaier won the "Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence" from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association...
won a First Amendment award from the Associated Press Managing Editors for her stories uncovering profligate spending at PHEAA, the state agency that gives college loans to students. That same year, reporter Ford Turner won the APME's Public Service award for uncovering an unusually high rate of cancer among residents of a small neighborhood of Selinsgrove, Pa. Murphy also won first prize in investigative reporting from the National Education Writers Association for her stories on PHEAA spending.
Investigative reporter Pete Shellem
Peter Shellem
Peter Joseph Shellem was an investigative reporter for The Patriot-News. He was instrumental in obtaining the release of five wrongfully convicted innocent people:...
, who died in 2009, received widespread recognition for his work in freeing the innocent from prison. Shellem's stories in The Patriot-News resulted in the release of four people who had been convicted of murder - Patty Carbone who had served 11 years, Steven Crawford who had served 28 years, Barry Laughman who had served 16 years, David Gladden who had served 12 years. His reporting also freed Charles Dubs, who had served five years on a rape conviction. In the New York Times obituary for Shellem, Barry Scheck
Barry Scheck
Barry C. Scheck is an American lawyer. He received national media attention while serving on O.J. Simpson's defense team, winning an acquittal in the highly publicized murder case. Scheck is the director of the Innocence Project and a professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York...
, co-director of the Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo's success as a young school has been remarkable, leading some to characterize Cardozo as a...
at Yeshiva University, called him "a rare, one-man journalism innocence project."
Crime reporter and Penn State grad Sara Ganim began gaining national attention in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal
Penn State sex abuse scandal
The Penn State sex abuse scandal refers to allegations that former Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted or had inappropriate contact with at least eight underage boys on or near university property...
after Sandusky's indictment in November, 2011. Ganim had written a substantial piece in March, 2011, when few others were covering the story. Among other follow-ups, she then spoke to two of the mothers of alleged victims for the paper in the immediate wake of the indictment. “You can credit the Patriot-News with giving me the time a reporter needs to cover this kind of story,” she said to a New York media columnist who specially noted her coverage. The columnist wrote that Kim Jones, reporting at Penn State for WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
, "also mentioned Ganim’s stellar work" and that Jason McIntyre of the sports blog The Big Lead
The Big Lead
The Big Lead is a blog owned by Fantasy Sports Ventures that mainly covers sports but also touches on everything from politics to pop culture. It was started in February 2006 by Jason McIntyre and college friend David Lessa...
among others had been singling out Ganim -- and her P-N colleague Ben Jones, in McIntyre's case -- on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
The World Association of Newspapers Young Reader Prize for Newspaper in Education in 2007 was awarded to The Patriot-News for its SchoolHouse News program with the Harrisburg (Pa.) School District.
Audience
2011 - Over 492,000 readers weekly in print and on PennliveAs of January 2011, the newsstand price is 75¢ daily and $2.00 for the Sunday edition.