Grateful for team of journalists who care about community, each other | From the Editor
This Sunday, rather than talk about stories, I’m going to talk about people. Our people.
I’ve bragged in the past about what an amazing team of journalists I work with at FLORIDA TODAY. They really care — about the community, about journalism, about each other.
It’s their care and passion that drives the stories we’re able to tell and the photographs we capture.
I’m going to mention just a few who played a big role this past week.
First, Engagement Editor John Torres. John led this past week’s transportation project, which touched on everything from Brevard’s busiest roadways to golf cart rules to upcoming road construction. In Sunday’s FLORIDA TODAY, we have a driving dos and don’ts that schools you on topics from earbuds to e-bikes. John also wraps up the week with a column that’s mostly a plea to all of us, and there’s a piece that looks at our most crash-prone intersections.
Almost the entire staff participated in this weeklong project. One of the metrics we watch are page views and these transportation stories have earned significant page views, which tells us we hit on topics you’re interested in.
“The response has been fantastic with many, many readers thanking us for taking this project on," John told me. "My hope is that maybe it will just get people thinking — even if subconsciously — about being a little safer on the roads. A little more focus by everyone will undoubtedly save lives.”
The other person I want to thank this week is Rob Landers, who wears a variety of hats here at FLORIDA TODAY. Rob worked all week with our amazing photo team, Malcolm Denemark, Craig Bailey and Tim Shortt, to make sure we were able to bring you photographs from all of our high school graduations.
For our photographers, that’s a monumental task. Many graduations overlap and our county is long. Getting from one to another, taking the photos, getting them online is time-consuming. Throw in a couple of launches, other photo assignments and it’s amazing they accomplish all that they do. Rob helped make that process easier, and he devised new, creative ways to get those photographs in front of more readers. Look for a big print display featuring all of our high school graduations this coming week. Photos courtesy of our amazing staff, and the entire package organized by Rob.
Speaking of photographs, I want to share an honor that Malcolm Denemark won this week. He was named the Best of Gannett winner in photography. That’s a big deal because we are a big company. The competition was enormous. Here’s what the judges said: Malcolm Denemark's photography in 2023 captured emotions, awe-inspiring views, rocket launches, humanity at its best and worst.
Congratulations!
Also big congratulations to John and Rob, who were finalists in Best of Gannett in the audio storytelling category for the most recent season of Murder on the Space Coast podcast: Monster on the Beach. If you haven't listened to it yet, what are you waiting for?
Thank you for subscribing and supporting local journalism.
Executive Editor Mara Bellaby can be reached at mbellaby@floridatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: FLORIDA TODAY journalists bring care, passion to our journalism
