Patrick Preston’s path to NBC 4 is full of twists and turns that took him to several states before he found his home here in Columbus, Ohio.
Born and raised in Orange County, California, Patrick graduated from high school in the Las Vegas area before heading to Washington, DC to study political science and journalism at George Washington University.
After graduation, Patrick left his job with the Associated Press Broadcast News Center to become a news anchor and reporter at WSVA-AM in Harrisonburg, Virginia. His first job in television news came at WHAG-TV in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he won an Associated Press award for his local coverage of the U.S.S. Cole bombing.
On September 11, 2001, Patrick arrived in Spokane, Washington to begin work at KXLY-TV. Three weeks later, he traveled to Ground Zero to report on clean-up and relief efforts at the World Trade Center. One year later, Patrick reported from the Pentagon on President Bush's speech marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
In 2004, Patrick spent more than a month in Kuwait and Iraq as an embedded reporter with the soldiers of the 737th Transportation Company. The Army Reserve unit took on the dangerous task of supplying fuel throughout Iraq. In Northern Iraq near Tikrit, Patrick's unit came under mortar fire from insurgents. In Baghdad, Patrick’s Humvee was hit by a rock thrown from a freeway overpass. Outside of the capital city, his convoy avoided a roadside bomb. For his reporting from America, Kuwait and Iraq, he won an Emmy award.
Later in 2004, Patrick covered the closest Governor's race in modern history; an election won on a second recount by less than 150 votes out of nearly 4,000,000 cast. For his reporting, Patrick was nominated for a second Emmy award for individual achievement in reporting. In 2005, Patrick came to Columbus for the chance to cover government and politics in Ohio. After leaving WBNS-TV, Patrick became a small business owner while serving as editor of a local magazine.
Patrick became NBC 4's investigative and political reporter in March 2007 in anticipation of the 2008 Presidential election. He is a member of the association of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). If you have a story that Patrick should investigate, you can email him at ppreston@wcmh.com
When he's not working, Patrick loves sports - especially college basketball. If he's not shooting hoops, you can look for him running the Olentangy River trail. Patrick volunteers with several charitable organizations, including his advisory position with Adventures for Wish Kids’ Miracles and Magic show. Following Hurricane Ivan, Patrick spent two weeks in Florida and Alabama as a relief volunteer with the American Red Cross. He has been active in a variety of young professionals organizations, where he has raised money for several non-profits and collected food for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.
