Email tony.schinella@patch.com
Twitter @ConcordNHPatch Facebook ConcordNHPatch Phone 603-843-5850 Who am I? I'm a suburban father and husband, award-winning journalist and radio broadcaster, political blogger, online and print publisher, and musician (specifically, both acoustic and electric guitar, sometimes through very loud amplifiers).  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. Career highlights I came to journalism in an unorthodox manner. After long stints working in retail, politics, broadcasting, and media and equipment sales, I decided to venture into community journalism. I started out as a freelancer at various newspapers in Boston and around eastern Massachusetts, covering government meetings and producing features on local businesses and people. Eventually, I was hired to be the reporter of the Belmont Citizen-Herald, in Belmont, Mass., in 2000 and was promoted to the editor's position at The Winchester Star in Winchester, Mass., in 2002, where I remained until 2004. In 2005, I won an IAFF Media Award in the editorial/column category for my work at The Star, advocating for properly compensated advanced life support ambulance services. In late 2004, I was hired as a news reporter and anchor for WKXL 1450 AM in Concord, N.H. Along with my reporting duties, I hosted an hour block of arts and entertainment programming. In 2005, I was named news director and later, program director, and won a NHAB Golden Mic Award in the feature category. I was named CEO (station manager) at the end of 2005 and sales manager in 2006. I returned to edit the Citizen-Herald in the spring of 2007. The newspaper was a finalist in the Best of Gatehouse 2008 Newspaper of the Year (non-daily) and I was a co-winner of a New England Press Association Award for government reporting that year too. I was named senior editor of GateHouse Media New England’s Lexington office in 2010. In 2011, I won five New England Newspaper and Press Association Awards for 2010: A third place award for General Excellence; second place award for Local Election Coverage; second and third place awards, in separate class divisions, for Educational Reporting; and second place for Overall Design. I was also named editor of the Lincoln Journal that year.  In June 2011, I was hired to be the local editor for the Concord, N.H., Patch site, and I'm very excited to be covering news and events in my hometown again.  Politics and religion I've been interested in politics for many, many years, dating back to the days that I was dragged around by my parents as a pre-teen, attending events during the 1976 Democrat and Republican presidential primaries (I follow politics like other people follow sports). I have been writing and talking about politics and public policy since the 1980s, in print, online, and on the radio.  Philosophically, I consider myself a "liberal-tarian," meaning that my political values are a mix of traditional liberalism and small "L" libertarianism. The solutions to our nation's ills are a combination of all kinds of ideas and policies. No single political party or movement has a corner on the solutions. In the past, I've been registered as a Democrat since I usually grab their primary ballots. Recently, I changed my registration back to "undeclared." As far as religious beliefs go, I consider myself a very spiritual, New Testament Christian, who occasionally attends services at Catholic churches in Concord with my wife and children (my boys and I were baptized at St. John's).  Personal interests Hiking, reading the WSJ, devouring books (media and political history, especially), watching movies, producing voiceovers and noodling in my home studio, saving the universe from the Covenant in online Halo games with my brothers and friends, listening to all kinds of music, and playing Whiffle ball and BBQing during the spring and summer months. Community I am currently vice president of the Executive Committee of the Concord Substance Abuse Coalition. I've been on the board since 2006. In the past, I was a board member of the Friends of Forgotten Children. I am also the co-founder of the Concord Taxpayers Association and was co-chairman of the organization until May 2011. I am also a 2007 graduate of Leadership Greater Concord, a program offered by the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.