Welcome to The Mercury's Media Lab

The Mercury teamed with PDIDA for a grand opening celebration for the Media Lab and the new PDIDA visitor's center. From left, Edward Condra, Journal Register Co.’s senior publisher of Greater Philadelphi; Steve Buttry, JRC director of community engagement; Diane Hoffman, community engagement editor; Sue Repko, TownSquare blogger and PDIDA board member.

After months of preparation, on Friday, July 20, the Mercury had a grand opening celebration to open the new Media Lab, located in the Mercury at 24 N. Hanover St., Pottstown.

You might be wondering, what can I do at the Media Lab? The answer is as simple as stopping by to use the computer to search for a job, help with blog set up, or as complex as having your organization host a webinar or a happy hour.

First visitors to the Media Lab came to use the computers to search for a job.

We welcome you to our Community Media Lab and look forward to meeting all of you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Diane Hoffman, community engagement editor, at 610-323-3000 ext. 156, or email dhoffman@pottsmerc.com

Slowly but surely, we're moving along

Before

During the last couple of weeks, we've been busy getting the Media Lab put together for our July 20 grand opening. The walls have been painted and new carpet installed.

After

Construction begins on the new Mercury Community Media Lab

Our current Media Lab.

In the beginning of May we announced that The Mercury was one of 12 newsrooms to receive funding for a new project - to update and open our Community Media Lab to the, well, community.

The Pottstown project will involve furnishing the former offices of the Penny Pincher adjacent to the main entrance of The Mercury at 24 N. Hanover St. with computers, a microfilm reader and furniture for daily use by the community as well as special events. The room to be refurbished is currently used as the Community Media Lab where bloggers meet for workshops. That use will be expanded and more community uses added. 

The first step in our plan is to remove the center cabinets.

First step, the center cabinets have been removed and will be re-purposed in the new lab.

We will be updating the progress of this project on this blog, so keep keep an eye out for future posts. 

It's time for Prom

Remember your prom? That magical night many high schooler dream of all year long. It may have been 20, 30 years ago, or it may have been this last weekend.

Chances are you took a lot of photos of that special night, so how about sharing some of them with us. We have created a very special 2012 Prom Pinterest board for you to share this year's pictures and we are posting them on our Facebook page as well.

But wait ... we don't want to leave the rest of you out. We'd love to see all your prom pictures, no matter how long ago. So we'll create a special board and Facebook album for you as well.

Send your prom pictures and a short description of the picture to Community Engagement Editor Diane Hoffman at dhoffman@pottsmerc.com.

Poison Ivy, Snakes and Trash, Oh My! Mercury Cleanup a huge success

This passed weekend, members of the Mercury newsroom staff joined community members at Ganshahawny Park in Douglassville, Berks County, in an extraordinary clean up effort.

Armed with bright orange vests, work gloves and trash bags provided by the Great American Cleanup, reporters and editors spent their Sunday morning, which also happened to be Mother's Day, removing trash surrounding the small park while braving wild snakes and an endless field of poison ivy.

Involved in the cleanup was Community Engagement Editor Diane Hoffman, her husband Jonathan Hoffman and children, Sophia and Ryan; Editor Nancy March; TownSquare blogger Mandy March; Online Editor Eileen Faust; Business Editor Michelle Karas; Reporter Evan Brandt and his wife Karen Maxfield; Reporters Frank Otto and Brandie Kessler; Tom Davidock, the Schuylkill Action Network Coordinator at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; and community members George Brown, Charlie Long and Gail Watts. 

For the record, only Brandie got poison ivy and the snakes, which were originally suspected as being copperheads, have been identified as "not a copperhead."

Thanks to everyone for their tremendous effort this weekend. Enjoy the slideshow from the day's events.