From skunks to space, Rick Neale knows his news
To quote the opening line of every episode of Gene Roddenbury’s brain-child “Star Trek:”
“Space, the final frontier…”
And while those words were true for every iteration of the Starship Enterprise in a universe started in the 1960s, they also hold true for our newest edition to the FLORIDA TODAY Space Team Rick Neale.
But Rick isn’t new to FLORIDA TODAY.
In 2004, the day before Hurricane Frances made landfall in Florida, Rick, who was supposed to start the following Tuesday, arrived early to help cover - as our then Metro editor put it - a Texas-sized hurricane barreling toward the coast.
It was an impressive start to a really impressive career for Rick in Brevard. And while he’s won multiple awards for his coverage, he’s become one of the most trusted and well-respected journalists on the Space Coast.
He’s extremely personable. As my papaw James L. would say, "He ain't never met a stranger."
After two decades on the Space Coast, Rick was ready for something different. So when a spot on our Space Team opened in September, Rick jumped at the chance to start his “final frontier.”
“I’ve covered just about everything under the sun in Brevard County during the past 19 years at FLORIDA TODAY, including numerous launches and space-related stories,” Rick said. “But delving into the space beat full-time will definitely require a learning curve over the coming months because it’s such a specialized topic.”
I have no doubt that Rick will master any challenge that comes his way in the new role. He, like the rest of the team here at FLORIDA TODAY, have a huge amount of respect and pride for the historic beat that’s very unique to our news organization and the Space Coast.
For Rick, the most rewarding part of the job so far? “Getting to see people and things that I never would otherwise, such as covering the Crew-7 astronauts at the Launch and Landing Facility before they lifted off for the International Space Station.”
Beyond space, I wanted to bring you a little insight into Rick.
Question: What’s the weirdest story you’ve ever covered?
Rick: Probably the skunk with a Coke can stuck on its head that snarled traffic and held police at bay at an intersection in Port Clinton, Ohio, in April 2003. (This from the guy who covered albino squirrel sightings in Indialantic.)
Q: What's the one story that when you were writing it you stopped and thought to yourself "Wow, this is a really big deal?"
Rick: One memorable instance: After South Patrick Shores resident Michael Dunn fatally shot Jordan Davis during a parking-lot dispute triggered by loud rap music, I covered Dunn’s murder trial in 2014 in Jacksonville. The first day of the trial, I sat in the courthouse and reported what happened – and then I returned to my hotel room and saw CNN Headline News’ Nancy Grace discussing those same events at length on her show.
Q: What's your favorite part of living in downtown Melbourne?
Rick: Fast access to the coffee shops, restaurants and Melbourne City Hall, and it’s a scenic jog running over the Melbourne Causeway to Indialantic and back.
Now if you're a fan of Rick's non-space work, have no fear. As you can see from the work he's done this week alone, if Rick sees a story, he's going to bring you the details.
You can read Rick’s latest stories here. If you have questions for Rick, you can email him at rneale@floridatoday.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: FLORIDA TODAY Rick Neale Reporter space team profile
