The Florida Independent Community Advisory Board
The Florida Independent Community Advisory Board is made up of seven people, filled to represent the three organizations that together applied for the Knight Community Information Challenge, through which The Florida Independent was established. The seven members of the Community Advisory Board are:
- Ellyn Angelotti, representing The American Independent News Network
- Lisa Carlton, representing Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
- David Gulliver, representing Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
- Donald Hinkle, representing The American Independent News Network
- Rob Lorei, representing The American Independent News Network
- John Koenig, representing the Community Foundation of Central Florida
- Stephen Wilberding, representing Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice
Gulf Coast Community Foundation was awarded a $352,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to fund The Florida Independent—a two-year experiment to create an investigatory statewide news service. The Knight grant will be matched with another $350,000 from Gulf Coast Community Foundation, individual donors, and The American Independent News Network bringing the total two-year project budget to $702,000.
The Florida Independent will fill a void left by the decrease in reporters covering important statewide issues from Florida’s capitol. The goal is to fill this gap with experienced reporters who will pursue angles raised in the community and monitor issues such as the economy, health care, environment, education, the state budget, and government accountability. Informed communities with fair, accurate information are critical to a well-functioning democracy
The Florida Independent will be published and managed by The American Independent News Network, which operates a nonprofit online news network with existing operations in Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington, DC.
The Florida Independent will have a community advisory board that has an interest in fair and accurate reporting. The Community Advisory Board will be composed of seven people.
- Three members appointed by and who represent the Gulf Coast Community Foundation
- Three members appointed by and who represent The American Independent News Network
- One member appointed by and who represents the Community Foundation of Central Florida
- To uphold the journalistic ethics and integrity of The Florida Independent and its writers.
- All reporters for The American Independent News Network must adhere to our code of ethics, which is based on that of the Society of Professional Journalists. You can see the code here, and it will be published on The Florida Independent as well.
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