The Florida Trib won the Vision Award from the Next Challenge for Media & Journalism, a nationwide competition, for its work to scale free investigative journalism in one of the country’s worst news deserts. The award was announced at the Media Impact Forum in San Francisco on May 28.
Barry Gisser, senior vice president and chief financial officer for American Public Media Group, said in presenting the award that The Florida Trib’s work is “a bold, differentiated vision for what journalism can become.”
The Next Challenge for Media & Journalism competition, run by the Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, is the largest open to nonprofit and for-profit media early stage start-up news organizations in the United States. The ceremony brought together journalists, funders, technologists, and founders to recognize the most innovative startups reinventing local news across the United States, recognizing five winners from an original pool of nearly 400 applicants. The prize includes a $10,000 award for The Florida Trib, as well as mentoring and training by industry leaders.
Judges in the contest noted the organization’s powerful impact and accelerating growth, writing: “The Florida Trib presents an exceptionally well-run model with documented civic impact, a strong financial trajectory, and a notably credentialed team for the organization’s stage. The partner network approach demonstrates real understanding of how to reach Floridians at scale in a structurally challenged news environment, and the recent expansion of editorial leadership for statewide scale signals serious operational ambition.”
CEO and Publisher Deirdre Conner credited the Trib’s team of journalists and those they collaborate with throughout the state to produce award-winning work that provides residents with free, high-quality news and information to make informed choices.
“I’m incredibly thankful to the Glen Nelson Center and the judges that found The Florida Trib’s bold vision worthy of this national recognition,” Conner said. “It’s so energizing to know how many people share our urgency in addressing the needs of the state with the fewest local news outlets per capita in the United States. The support that comes with this award will help us address huge information gaps during a critical election year in Florida.”
In an acceptance speech, Conner highlighted the impact that the organization’s journalists have had, such reporting that led to a decline in deaths at a county jail and helped save drivers millions in wrongly issued tickets.
“Thank you for seeing us,” Conner said. “And thank you for supporting the work of journalism in a place that really is the future of this country.”
The Florida Trib was also recognized as a finalist in the Catalyst Award for Local News Innovation. The Catalyst division recognizes startups that represent “a new way forward for local journalism in the United States.” Judging criteria includes an innovative business model that’s replicable, and tested strategies for delivering trustworthy local news and information to expanding audiences.
“The founders we recognized are not waiting for someone else to solve the local news crisis. They are building the solutions themselves,” said Jeff Freeland Nelson, executive director of Glen Nelson Center. “This competition exists to find them, support them, and put them in front of the people who can help them grow.”
Liz Flaisig is The Florida Trib’s Partnerships Manager. Her experience in journalism includes weekly, daily, and investigative reporting and editorial board writing at several publications including the Florida Times-Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, and the Fort Pierce Tribune. More recently, Liz served as department chair and instructor of creative writing at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for 15 years. In addition to her research and development work for The Florida Trib, she is a private tutor for middle and high school students in English Language Arts and a graduate student in University of Rhode Island’s Library and Information Studies program.
