Email: bryan.littel@patch.com
Phone: 609-433-9911
Hometown: Flemington, NJ
Birthday: Oct. 1
Twitter: @CherryHillPatch
Facebook: Cherry Hill Patch

A New Jersey native, I grew up in Flemington, in the central part of the state, before heading south to study journalism (after a brief stint as a music major) at Rowan University. While at Rowan, I worked on The Whit, the campus paper, where I met my wife, Jen, who was Arts & Entertainment editor while I was photo editor.

After getting my degree, I worked for the Bridgeton News (now The News of Cumberland County) and its sister papers, Today's Sunbeam and the Gloucester County Times, as a photographer and reporter, where my work garnered awards from the New Jersey Press Association, New Jersey Press Photographers Association and National Press Photographers Association.

When I'm not tethered to my laptop and camera, I'm either out running year-'round (yes, even when it's 20-something degrees out), skiing in the winter or golfing in the summer. I'm a distance runner with a couple half marathons under my belt—plus plenty of 5Ks, a few 10Ks and a handful of 10-milers. I also try to read as much as possible, regularly devouring 30 books or more a year, as well as countless periodicals, news articles and blog posts.

Our 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 them to inject their beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that their beliefs are on the record will cause them 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
How would you describe your political beliefs?
I tend to be fiscally centrist and more socially liberal, but I'm a pragmatist at heart, especially at the local level. Good government is good government, whether it comes from people with Ds, Rs or any other letters (or no letters at all) before their names.

Are you registered with a certain party?
I'm currently registered as a Democrat for one purpose—so I can vote in primaries and have a voice in the political process from beginning to end. My voting record in general elections will show me choosing candidates from all over the political map, including the occasional write-in. I believe it's important to be as involved as possible in the process, which means voting every time I can—in every primary, Board of Education, local, state and national election. I'd love to see the day where all of those can get boiled down into  two election days per year in New Jersey, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Religion
How religious would you consider yourself?
I grew up Roman Catholic, but take a wider view on religion as an adult. I've visited cathedrals in the U.S. and Europe, mosques in Egypt and Buddhist temples in Tibet, and all of those experiences have reinforced the idea that religion is something deeply personal.