I opened Creative Loafing last week and found a really important story — one that I think should have been the cover story instead of the chicken story that got that exposure instead.
The story is about a former Sarasota Herald Tribune report — David Gulliver — who has taken a giant leap forward in the efforts to preserve real reporting on local issues that matter by launching a nonprofit online site called Sarasota Health News. I don’t know Gulliver but I was mightily impressed by what he’s undertaking. I admire this reporter’s entrepreneurial spirit and his commitment to finding some way to continue to investigate, report, and deliver hard news about his area of journalism — Suncoast health care.
Here’s a snippet from the CL article: “The site features the kind of content that should hit your porch every morning: stories about Suncoast health care, with a focus on everything from the finances of Sarasota Memorial Hospital to personal stories of those struggling to gain access to affordable care. And if it resembles the work of a traditional beat-working newspaperman, that’s probably because it is: The Herald-Tribune laid off SHN founder and editor David Gulliver in February.”
You can read the article in entirety by clicking here.
But what I really recommend is that you go directly to Gulliver’s site — www.sarasotahealthnews.org — and check his reporting out for yourself. He’s got a pretty comprehensive report posted today on swine flu.
I hope like hell Gulliver’s site is a smashing success. If it is, he’s breaking ground locally and giving everybody something to think about.
Gulliver has really done an important service with his site.You can also sign up for a daily newsletter with up to date relevant information.Thanks MC for pointing out David’s website.
Oh, I didn’t know about the newsletter — good point, Steve — thanks for reading and for commenting!