Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorAugust 26, 2014

Recently my incorrigible publisher, Peter Schorsch, made national news stopping a feel-good, pay-it-forward event at Starbucks. After several hundred people continued a chain of buying coffee drinks for the people behind them, Peter, a statewide troublemaker who never met a controversy he didn’t enjoy, said no and stopped it. Imagine my surprise. Part of Peter’s […]

Guest AuthorAugust 13, 2014

Last week, Gannett Company announced its latest contribution to journalism, the “Newsroom of the Future.” Its newspaper reporting will be driven by digital metrics, such as page views, clicks, traffic source referral patterns and social boost. The newsroom will have a content coach, community content editor, engagement editor and producer. Reporters must not only write, […]

Guest AuthorJuly 27, 2014

About 20 years ago, when I was a graduate student in Tucson, Arizona, I befriended two neighbors who worked as traveling nurses taking short-term jobs at hospitals in interesting places around the country. John and Sue had met a few years earlier when they served together in a busy metropolitan hospital, an often stressful environment. […]

Guest AuthorJuly 10, 2014

My ears are starting to hurt. Let me explain. I enjoy social media. Like most people, thanks to online technology, I am able to reconnect and stay in touch with friends and family all across the world. Birthdays, weddings, graduations, joys, triumphs and even tragedies are shared as part of a genuine sense of community. […]

Guest AuthorJune 25, 2014

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It’s summertime! The solstice just went by and as the days now become shorter, summer has officially begun. It’s a time to relax and reboot. It’s a time to find some water to splash around in. And it’s a time for contemplation… Central Florida is classing up. Great markets are popping up, including East End […]

Guest AuthorJune 19, 2014

I admit it. I’m addicted. Social media, my phone, television, all things Internet — I would not want to live without them. I turn 40 next month and I’ve had the luxury of: growing up without the Internet, reading physical books in the library that I found using a card catalog, remembering the first time […]

Guest AuthorJune 17, 2014

Every June, I write thank you notes to my twin sons’ teachers. I include a gift card, and words of appreciation for all their hard work. I also encourage them to spend the gift cards on tequila shots or therapy sessions. This year, my kids’ last in middle school, we experienced two truly ineffective teachers. […]

Guest AuthorJune 4, 2014

Back in the 1950s, my nana squeezed out her sixth kid and decided to get a job. Without even a high school diploma, she enrolled in nursing school and made it happen. This was a radical thing to do. But Kitty Durkin was a radical chick and didn’t care that her neighbors and friends thought […]

Guest AuthorJune 2, 2014

Much is made about the decline in public discourse. Thorough and sensible discussion about issues has fallen prey to the brevity of tweets and the anger and anonymity of blogs, online comments and Facebook posts. I am pleased to be “friends” with so many people on Facebook. They use it to send good wishes and […]

Guest AuthorMay 20, 2014

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” — Albert Schweitzer Friendship has changed in our social-media age. We used to maintain long-distance friendships with letters […]

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Catherine Durkin Robinson: Behavior is what’s important, not the motivation

Rick Outzen: Quality journalism can’t be measured by social media clicks

Melody Bowdon: Give people a break; it’s very good for you

Tom Cavanagh: The echo chamber is getting louder

Mark Routhier: Lazy days of summer – time to relax and contemplate

Leandra Preston-Sidler: Appreciating the simple moments in midst of technology onslaught

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Thanking bad teachers for making me a hero

Catherine Durkin Robinson: Why most women should work outside the home

Ed Moore: Nation’s future is bright if we can stop the social media vitriol

Steve Kurlander: Artie Lee: A social-media friend that I regret I never met