Local editorial collaborative to examine Florida’s camping ban impact

  • The News-Gazette has joined a collaboration of local news outlets to report on the local impact of regional and state issues. SUBMITTED GRAPHIC
    The News-Gazette has joined a collaboration of local news outlets to report on the local impact of regional and state issues. SUBMITTED GRAPHIC

    A list of collaboration stories published:
    Jan. 9: Local government in line with state law against sleeping in public—reluctantly (Osceola News-Gazette)
    Jan. 12: Beds, laws, lawsuits: The math of homelessness in Central Florida (WKMG)
    Jan. 15: Competition to collaboration: Central Florida news outlets join forces on homelessness crisis (WKMG)
    Jan. 30: Being counted—volunteers out to find homeless (Osceola News-Gazette)
    Feb. 7: Area’s plan to reduce homelessness ‘not changing’ due to new law (The Community Paper)
    March 6: Florida’s camping ban may affect HUD’s homeless Point-In-Time count for 2025 (Central Florida Public Media)
    April 3: OUR WORD — Leaders, please don't extinguish hopes for homeless facility (Orlando Sentinel)
    April 10: Homeless have been counted– or have they? (Osceola News-Gazette)
    May 8: 8 Myths of Homelessness (Vox Populi)
    May 15: 4.5% of Osceola students face housing insecurity (Osceola News-Gazette)
    May 22: Need for unsheltered services growing (Osceola News-Gazette)
    June 12: Vanishing Point: Are Florida’s homeless being counted or just pushed out of sight? (WKMG)
    June 26: Trump proposal threatens key money to Central Florida’s homelessness fight, advocates say (Orlando Sentinel)
    Aug. 7: ‘Fundamentally inhumane:’ Advocates fear Trump order’s effect on homeless, mentally ill (WKMG)
    Sept. 4: His neighbors shot down homeless shelter—so he wrote a play (Orlando Sentinel)
    Oct. 30: Homeless advocate Eric Gray enters District 35 race (Osceola News-Gazette)
    Dec. 18: Doves and tears for 136 homeless people who died this year (WKMG)

     

    The Osceola News-Gazette is joining nine other local news outlets in a regional collaboration to report on the local impact of Florida’s new Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping bill (House Bill 1365), which began to be enforced Jan. 1. For six months, these news outlets will share and cross-publish their reporting to work toward creating a more informed and engaged Central Florida community. This collaboration is an ongoing effort, which additional news organizations may join over time.

    The News-Gazette is contributing its local reporting to examine how the law will impact all residents in Osceola County. Along with its local media partners in this cause, the News-Gazette aims to provide readers with timely and trustworthy reporting on this critical issue. 

    “As a journalism community, we are stronger together,” News-Gazette Editor Ken Jackson said. “This unique collaboration will ensure the best reporting from a number of local outlets, featuring our, and their, local expertise, on a topic very important in Osceola County that needs to be addressed. Hopefully, solutions can come from this that benefit everyone, from residents, homeless or not, to government agencies tasked to take on this un-funded mandate."

    This collaboration was formed at the Central Florida Journalism Ecosystem Summit, created last summer by Central Florida Public Media, Central Florida Foundation and Oviedo Community News. The Summit served as the first strategic alliance of local news organizations looking to change the course of civic engagement in Central Florida. 

    Following the Summit, a nine-member task force facilitated by Mark Brewer, president and CEO of Central Florida Foundation, met to fine-tune the collaborative’s goals and select a pilot project – choosing House Bill 1365 as the first major issue to address together. This collaboration highlights the power of regional news outlets unifying under the same goal.

    “As the only local nonprofit news organization serving all of Central Florida, we believe we have a responsibility to unite the community’s news outlets and prioritize public service over competition,” said Judith Smelser, president and general manager of Central Florida Public Media. “Gone are the days when one single media outlet could meet the region’s needs alone. By working together, we can strengthen and preserve local journalism.”

    “One of the Central Florida Foundation's core values is fostering a well-informed and civically engaged community,” said Mark Brewer, president and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation, which is providing operational but not editorial guidance to the budding collaborative. “The Journalism Ecosystem Summit and, subsequently, this first collaboration among local news organizations are excellent examples of Central Florida as a leader in community innovation, with organizations across sectors that want to work together to achieve shared goals.”

    “Looking to best practices around the nation, this group of committed news organizations has been working hard to create a local model that will reach more Central Floridians and dive deeper into issues that matter to our audiences," Oviedo Community News Editor-in-chief Megan Stokes said. "Accessibility and creating news that responds to local needs have been pillars of Oviedo Community News from the start. We are excited to work with this collaborative to help spread that public service throughout the region."

    You can find more information on all participating organizations below:

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