Sun Sentinel launches Community News Fund

Money to support journalism, expand local coverage

Froma journalist’s perspective, covering South Florida is a dream job. It has a well-earned reputation for being one of the busiest — and craziest — news regions in the country. One doesn’t have to look hard for compelling stories. They are everywhere.

Yet we are challenged like never before to do the journalism that South Florida deserves. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated business trends that newspapers have long faced, crunching resources at a time when accurate, deeply reported information is most needed. Layer on the other big crises we are covering — lost jobs and failing businesses, civil rights battles and rising seas—and we find ourselves making tough choices everyday about what we can and cannot cover.

That’s why we are excited to launch the Sun Sentinel’s Community News Fund with the not-for-profit Florida Press Foundation. We hear regularly from readers who want to support local journalism beyond buying a subscription. Receiving funding fromtax-deductible donations will allow us go beyond covering the biggest stories and extend our journalism deeper into our communities.

Here is what we plan to do with additional funding:

Expand local news. Hire local correspondents to cover local news and trends rising up in our communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The everyday topics of community policing, schools, traffic, taxes and safe water deserve more coverage.

Double down on watchdog journalism. The Sun Sentinel believes watchdog journalism — holding public officials accountable to its citizens — is the core mission of our newsroom. Yet this kind

of reporting is expensive. Additional funds will help us pursue public records, and frankly, the use of First Amendment lawyers to pry loose information that deserves to be examined.

We will prioritize and scale our projects based on what our Community News Fund drive raises. We are excited to report back to our donors on what we accomplish.

To make a tax-deductible contribution, you can visit sunsentinel.com/donate or send a check to Florida Press Foundation, 1025 Greenwood Blvd., Suite 191, Lake Mary, FL 32746 and note it is for Sun Sentinel.

Thank you for helping us expand our journalism in these interesting times.