You’ll notice some changes on the masthead as the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting begins its fourth year as the only statewide nonprofit, bilingual news site.
Associate Directors Trevor Aaronson and Mc Nelly Torres, who together founded FCIR, are moving into new roles. Trevor is joining Al Jazeera America in Washington, D.C., as an investigative reporter. Mc Nelly is going to graduate school, though she’ll continue to work on FCIR’s collaboration with NBC6, the network affiliate in Miami.
FCIR thanks Trevor and Mc Nelly for their vision, hard work and commitment to public service reporting and we wish them well. And we welcome Eric Barton, a veteran South Florida editor, who joins FCIR as interim editor.
Eric has worked at Florida news organizations from Sarasota to Stuart. He was most recently a contributing editor at WLRN in Miami and previously the editor of New Times in Fort Lauderdale. He brings reporting, editing and multimedia skills to the job.
“I’ve been hearing a lot lately about how I have big shoes to fill,” Eric said. “It’s true, and it’s also exciting to tackle the kind of watchdog journalism Trevor and Mc Nelly are known for doing.”
You’ll be hearing more from Eric on his plans, so please watch this space.
FCIR was born on Sept. 7, 2010, with an initial grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, still our major funder.
In three years, we’ve produced significant work that has won more than three dozen national and regional journalism awards. These include Best News Website in the Sunshine State Awards for two years running, a Best in Show from the National Headliner Awards and prizes three years in a row for investigative reporting from the National Awards for Education Reporting.
Collaboration is a cornerstone of FCIR’s journalism. Partners include Florida’s NPR member stations, the Miami Herald, The Ledger of Lakeland, the Florida Times-Union, Associated Press, NBC6, Mother Jones, El Nuevo Herald, StateImpact Florida, New America Media, the Center for Public Integrity, the University of Miami, Florida International University and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkeley, among others.
We’re building an audience across Florida for serious public service reporting. Still, we need your support so we can do more. That takes money. You’ll notice a “donate” button at the end of this note. Please give what you can.
Your contribution will help us build on the work begun by Trevor and Mc Nelly.
“I’m immensely proud to have helped build FCIR from an idea to a respected nonprofit investigative news organization whose work has made an impact and earned recognition from our peers,” said Trevor.
“I’m proud of the work FCIR has produced during the past three years and all the relationships we have built with the traditional and ethnic media in Florida,” said Mc Nelly. “We welcome Eric and look forward to his leadership.”
Please join me in celebrating FCIR’s fourth year by thanking Trevor and Mc Nelly, wishing Eric great stories and generous donors and welcoming Contributing Editor Tristram Korten back to FCIR and Florida after a leave as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan.
And to our readers and supporters, thank you.
Sharon Rosenhause
Board President, Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
