Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ana CeballosNovember 10, 2017

Arek Sarkissian, the chief of the one-man Tallahassee bureau for the Naples Daily News, announced Friday he will be joining POLITICO Florida early next month to cover medical marijuana and gambling. “The Team of POLITICO Florida is fearless in reporting Florida’s government,” Sarkissian told Florida Politics. “They exemplify the dogged reporting this state’s journalism is […]

Jim RosicaJuly 12, 2017

Update: The cancelled CRA meeting mentioned below, originally set for this Thursday, was rescheduled for next Wednesday (July 19) at 9:30 a.m. in City Hall’s commission chambers. The meeting agenda is here. A spokeswoman Wednesday said the city of Tallahassee and its Community Redevelopment Agency has turned over thousands of pages’ worth of material regarding the FBI’s investigation of the […]

Staff ReportsJuly 3, 2017

We’ve beat up on them before, but we have nothing but praise for the tenacious and relentless reporting of the Tallahassee Democrat as it digs into the percolating scandal surrounding the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). To recap, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in north Florida has issued subpoenas seeking information on redevelopment projects that involve the […]

Staff ReportsNovember 5, 2016

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Sean Rossman, the Tallahassee Democrat‘s local government reporter, will join USA Today as a “trending national news” correspondent later this month. Rossman announced the move on his Facebook page Saturday. He will work from USA Today’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia, starting Nov. 30. “I owe so much to the Tallahassee Democrat, which gave me a shot at […]

Associated PressNovember 1, 2016

USA Today publisher Gannett walked away Tuesday from its attempted takeover of Tronc, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and other major dailies. Gannett’s target was elusive from the beginning, with a publicly contentious back-and-forth between the two companies. Tronc, formerly known as Tribune Publishing, rejected at least two bids from Gannett […]

Jim RosicaOctober 27, 2016

Susan Ledford wasn’t an immediately recognizable name from the Tallahassee Democrat‘s newsroom. Unlike Gerald Ensley or Bill Cotterell, she didn’t ride on parade floats or get to be known by governors and lawmakers. But for nearly three decades, Ledford helped make the trains run on time, night after night. Ledford — who’s been a copy editor, page designer, […]

Associated PressApril 25, 2016

Newspaper publisher Gannett said Monday that it wants to buy rival Tribune Publishing for more than $388 million, in a deal that would give the owner of USA Today control of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and several other newspapers. But Gannett said Monday that Tribune has refused to begin “constructive discussions” about […]

Ryan RayMarch 9, 2016

The Florida Senate passed a shorter alternative to an omnibus anti-corruption bill to tighten ethics standards and make it easier to prosecute corruption on Wednesday, amid a flurry of bill action. The proposal, HB 7071, passed on a 39-0 vote. The measure lowers a legal threshold for prosecution from “with corrupt intent” to “knowingly and intentionally” […]

Associated PressMarch 3, 2016

Anyone worried that Republican Gov. Chris Christie was being held hostage by Donald Trump as he stood, seemingly shell-shocked, behind the GOP presidential front-runner on Super Tuesday can rest easy. “No, I wasn’t being held hostage. No, I wasn’t sitting up there thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what have I done?'” Christie said Thursday back home […]

Ryan RayJanuary 14, 2016

A controversial new ethics proposal backed by the Gannett chain of newspapers has just scored an advancement in its quest to become law. The so-called “anti-corruption” bill that would hold government contractors to standards now applied to many elected officials has just been adopted as part of Sen. Don Gaetz‘s SB 686, an omnibus ethics reform […]

Tag: Gannett
Debate party at Sports Grill Kendall. Image via AP.

Personnel note: Arek Sarkissian to join POLITICO Florida

Tallahassee hands over 90,000 pages to feds over CRA deals

Let us now praise a famous (and good) newspaper

Personnel note: Sean Rossman will join USA Today

Newspaper deal falls apart as Gannett gives up on Tronc

Putting a face on Gannett’s ‘2 percent workforce reduction’

USA Today owner Gannett bids for LA Times publisher Tribune

Senate passes abridged public corruption bill

Chris Christie on Donald Trump appearance: ‘I wasn’t being held hostage’

Gannett public corruption bill now attached to broader Senate ethics package