As digital media changes how we consume information, and newsrooms scramble for resources, we need to train the next generation of reporters to keep journalism accountable.
Ensuring that journalism continues to have integrity — by subscribing to local news outlets, supporting nonprofit media and demanding transparency from elected officials — is a shared civic duty in a democracy. And higher education institutions, nonprofits and news organizations are playing a vital role in keeping the Fourth Estate relevant and essential to American life.
At more than a dozen major public and private universities across the country, including the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, we are collaboratively training the next generation of investigative journalists. In UF’s Fresh Take Florida program, for example, students work alongside seasoned professionals to report on issues of statewide importance — from government accountability to environmental degradation. Their stories appear free of charge in major outlets across Florida and the nation, filling critical gaps as local newsrooms shrink.
Ted Bridis is an award-winning investigative journalist and senior lecturer at the University of Florida. Before joining UF in 2018, he led the Associated Press’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington investigative team. He is known for his expertise in source protection, Freedom of Information Act law and uncovering high-profile stories like Hillary Clinton’s private email server and Paul Manafort’s foreign lobbying.
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