Dear readers,
As the editor-in-chief of the Orlando Sentinel for the past five years, I have focused our newsroom on the most vital responsibility of a free press: holding the powerful accountable to the people they govern.
A local free press is essential to a healthy democracy. It’s as true now as 230 years ago when the First Amendment was ratified.
We discovered and reported extensively about a toxic chemical in some Seminole County drinking water that even elected officials were unaware existed. This led to a community forum and more discussion about what officials should do to keep our drinking water safe.
We have exposed the crimes of a county tax collector involved in everything from sex trafficking to identity theft. That public official, Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty to six federal charges.
Editorial: Our readers’ support is critical to pierce the darkness and expose the truth
And Sentinel journalists have ferreted out a complex operation to finance “ghost” candidates for the Florida Senate in a vote-siphoning scheme in Central and South Florida elections. That investigation has many tentacles and is still being reported, but thus far it has resulted in three local people being criminally charged.
These stories – and others like them – take hundreds of hours of digging, and thousands of dollars to report.
We know there are more out there waiting to be reported, but we can use your help.
How? You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Orlando Sentinel Community News Fund to help fund our investigative reporting and other vital local journalism. You can go to OrlandoSentinel.com/donate or send a check to Florida Press Foundation, 1025 Greenwood Blvd., Suite 191, Lake Mary, FL, 32746 and note it is for Orlando Sentinel.
The Florida Press Foundation set up the Fund in 2020 to help the Sentinel and other newspapers expand their journalism. If you have given to the Fund in the past, thank you. We hope you and others will consider providing us a boost for 2023.
Best regards,
Julie Anderson
