Farewell from the editor and thanks to the readers of the Herald-Tribune
To the readers of the Herald-Tribune:
It has been my privilege since 2021 to be the editor of this important community newspaper and website. Venerable too – we will celebrate our 100th anniversary in two years. Today, I’m writing to tell you that I will be leaving the Herald-Tribune after this week to take a new opportunity.
I will continue to be a resident and a reader who cares about good and credible local journalism, just like you. And I urge you to continue to support the team at the HT, as I will, as they work hard to provide you with important news and information you want and need.
In recent months alone, there are many highlights of the ways the Herald-Tribune rises to the challenge to inform its community. The most obvious one is Hurricane Ian, which threatened severe devastation in the Sarasota-Manatee region but saved the worst of its impact for our neighbors to the south. Still, Ian brought a lot of suffering to our readership area, from flooding in North Port and along the Myakka River, to major damage in Englewood and Venice. Our team was there to report on it all. Hundreds of thousands of you followed our live updates online as the storm approached and you responded compassionately to stories of neighbors who lost homes, businesses and lives.
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Reporter Earle Kimel told you about residents of the Holiday Park mobile home park in North Port that was severely damaged by Ian, who learned that unless they kept paying for water service they couldn’t use while their homes were being repaired, they’d have to pay $27,000 to hook up to the system again later. After our story ran, the city found another solution. Meanwhile, a photo online by our photo editor, Mike Lang, provided relief to a woman in California who was frantic about her friend in Venice, but found out from the photo that she survived the storm.
Away from the storm, real estate reporter Derek Gilliam has been chronicling security problems with the state’s official Division of Corporations database called Sunbiz.org. He wrote about a Sarasota business owner who found that a stranger had hijacked his business by changing the records on the website and taking out $1 million in loans against the company. After our stories, that man was arrested, and now legislators are considering a bill to make Sunbiz more secure.
Our political editor, Zac Anderson, spent most of 2022 covering the governor’s race for all USA TODAY Network papers in Florida. Not long after it ended, he found himself covering one of the biggest stories in Sarasota in years – the plan by Gov. Ron DeSantis to remake New College into a more conservative school with new trustees, a new president and other sweeping changes. Anderson broke stories about the background of the new trustees DeSantis appointed, the loss of millions in fundraising after the changes and the identity of the alumni who worked with DeSantis to set the changes in motion.
One of the things I’m most proud of is the HT’s long association with the Season of Sharing campaign, co-sponsored with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Writer Saundra Amrhein provided story after story about those in need in our community and our readers responded with donations that this year reached $3.67 million.
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Reporter Gabriela Szymanowska continues to increase our coverage of the criminal justice system through our partnership with Report for America, a national journalism service program that pays part of the cost of an additional reporter on our staff. We are working to raise the rest from the community. If you want to help, you can do so here (website: bit.ly/RFAHT), or by sending a donation to Herald-Tribune/RFA, 1777 Main St., Sarasota, FL, 34236. Please make checks payable to GroundTruth Project/RFA.
In many other ways every day – from authoritative dining, arts and high school sports coverage to important coverage of real estate and business, education, local government, public safety and more, to a thoughtful opinion page filled with local and state issues – we are working hard to reflect and serve our community.
We care passionately about getting it right, but sometimes we fail. When mistakes are brought to our attention, we correct them. I appreciate the many readers who have taken their time to share feedback, good and bad, about the paper so that we can always strive to improve. After I leave, you can reach editors in the newsroom, share news tips or provide feedback by emailing feedback@heraldtribune.com.
My thanks to the community for welcoming me and sharing your stories with me and our team. Thanks to our loyal advertisers who have long partnered with us in print and online. And my deepest thanks to the readers whose digital and print subscriptions provide vital support to allow our local journalists to continue serving their community.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Herald-Tribune editor Jennifer Orsi departs, thanks readers
