Email: jason.massad@patch.com
Phone: 678.237.1139 Hometown: Summerville, S.C. Birthday: I'm a Capricorn. Bio: I'm a Dunwoody resident that's covered news in north and metro Atlanta as a freelance journalist before working for Patch. Professionally, my background and love has been journalism. Prior to moving to Georgia in 2010, I worked for more than a decade at daily newspapers in Montana, California and Arizona. I've covered men's college basketball games - which are a favorite of mine - as well as a big oil spill in a pristine California marsh. I've also done the less glamorous grunt work of covering city and county government. Burying your nose in the paperwork of government machinery can turn into interesting stuff, though. A law enforcement agency in Arizona that I covered wasn't running controls on its in-house breathalyzer for months. A lot of police work went down the drain as those cases had to be tossed out of court. Outside of work, I like to camp and fish in the foothills of North Georgia, especially in the summer. I'm a big college basketball fan, as I said, and I have a terrier mutt named Wally who is adopted from a local rescue. Fortunately, he likes camping and watching basketball a lot, too. My 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. Politics: I'd say I'm basically conservative on fiscal issues and liberal on many social issues. Like gay marriage, for instance. It's my opinion that everyone should have the same legal rights, tax incentives and social benefits under state and federal law. I also think that people have the right to view these kind of unions however they choose when they worship on Sunday. Religion: I am Roman Catholic. Local Hot-Button Issues: What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?  Dunwoody has a lot of interesting things going on. It's a young city that is taking control of its own destiny on things like redevelopment and zoning, which will set the course for future city growth. The energy that the City Council has put into its formative years is admirable. It will be interesting covering the results of those efforts. Dunwoody's also a real desirable place for some heavy-hitting companies to do business. Crime, and what's being done about it, is real important in any community. Gardening is a big deal in Dunwoody, too.