It's time for another Transparency Corner, and my turn to tell a story.

My name is Joe Byrnes, and I'm a reporter and editor at Central Florida Public Media. I live in Ocala. So when it came time to cover President Donald Trump's speech in The Villages on May 1, it made sense, I suppose, to give me the assignment.

I've been around awhile and have covered a number of speeches by politicians, including a president, vice president and first lady. Over the past year I've also covered three No Kings protests in The Villages and Ocala.

But a Trump speech is unlike anything else. It's long and rambling and bounces from one topic to another and rolls into stories with dialogue and pantomime. It typically contains unfounded and highly personal public insults. And there are often statements that, as a matter of journalistic practice, need to be fact-checked before being shared.

A Trump speech is also a cultural phenomenon. That's partly because of the enthusiasm of some of the president's supporters. At the event in The Villages, a woman at the front of the incredibly long line waited 25 hours to hear him speak.

For all that, it was a political speech by the president in The Villages, and my editor and I determined that I should cover it as such. We had a particular focus in mind, something for which I was listening even though we remained open to whatever might come.

That focus was the rising cost of living and a related topic, the war with Iran.

Before the speech, I asked several of the people in line about those issues. They acknowledged the economic pain but said they still wholeheartedly trusted in President Trump.

The speech itself was an hour-and-a-half long. In my article, I described it in general terms as filled with stories, asides and insults and focused in part on economic issues, especially those affecting seniors.

Halfway through, Trump made remarks that seemed to me particularly newsworthy.

He acknowledged that higher gas prices and an initial downturn in the markets were the direct consequence of his decision to go to war.

Trump said he told his financial advisers he would have to "upset the apple cart." He didn't know if it was "foolish" or "brave" but he thought it was "smart" -- and Trump said he thought oil prices would have gone even higher.

So I highlighted those remarks.

That is how I covered the Trump speech. I did not try to retell or fact-check the whole thing but focused on a newsworthy element that seemed significant in the political landscape and in the lives of all of us in Central Florida.

Feedback from readers

At the bottom of our local articles on cfpublic.org, we have a survey that you can fill out after reading the story. So I know some readers had concerns about the coverage.

I'd like to share my thoughts about a few of those concerns, not to diminish them or explain them away, but to acknowledge them.

I think the most important critique was the lack of a Democratic or anti-Trump voice in the article.

Were there any protesters or people who disagreed with the president? 

I want to know about more than presidential sycophants. 

Democrats interviewed(?) Honestly, the bizarre devotion to Trump.

Republican focused reporting.

My primary assignment was covering the speech itself. There were anti-Trump protesters elsewhere in The Villages who were not part of the article, mainly because, being stuck at the school where the president spoke, I couldn't get to where they were. Still, since we included comments from Trump's supporters, I wish we had found a way to reach those protesters. My editors and I agree it's important to get competing points of view into a story when possible.

At Central Florida Public Media, we strive to make sure our coverage is accurate and fair and takes different points of view into account. I believe you'll see that in our collective coverage.

In previous stories, we have given a platform to many people with concerns about Trump and his administration.

Another set of comments related to some of the “goofy” and counter-factual things the president said.

... Cover the goofy things Trump says, he’s nuts.

Journalistic critiques are absent from this story. What a shame. Very one sided. Blatantly biased and not trustworthy. Were claims accurate? Alternate point of view? Basic journalism? 

That stings a little because our tagline at Central Florida Public Media is “Trustworthy. Independent. Journalism.” And we take that mission seriously.

In reporting this story, I avoided repeating apparent falsehoods that I was not in the position to fact-check at the time. We’ve had plenty of coverage on Trump’s often controversial comments, and I’ve seen articles fact-checking many of the statements repeated in this speech.

Central Florida Public Media has published articles like that, typically from NPR or Politifact.

There was also a comment related to a caption and a woman using a cane.

Why did you have to identify the woman in the photo as having a cane? Was it to emphasize the image that she is old?

I appreciate this comment for raising an issue of sensitivity. My caption was intended to describe what was happening in the photo itself, not to cast any shade on the woman involved. As I recall, at the time I was preoccupied with whether I could say she was “dancing” or simply “walking” through the crowd.

Finally, I’d like to say how much I value -- as my editors do, as well -- the survey responses that readers take the time to add. You prompt us to re-examine our work and help us to see it through fresh eyes. Please keep it up and look for more Transparency Corners down the road.

For this month's installment of Transparency Corner, we’re talking space. I’m Brendan Byrne, assistant news director here at Central Florida Public Media. I also have covered the space beat for more than a decade. When the Artemis II mission lifted off April 1 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, all eyes were eastward as the Orion capsule carried its crew of four on a moonbound mission that for more than nine days captivated the public. For me, it book-ended a story I had been following for Central Florida Public Media for more than 11 years.

The Orion spacecraft, which took NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian space agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on its record-setting trip around the moon and back, first took its maiden voyage – without a crew – on December 5, 2014. The mission called Exploration Flight Test-1 took the crew module of Orion on a roughly four-hour trip as a tech demonstration. The lessons learned from this mission went into the development of Orion, and the successful return of the Artemis II crew.

As a young producer at what was WMFE, I was sent out to Space View Park in Titusville to cover the launch attempt. It was the first space story I would ever cover. Standing along the pier, I spoke with space enthusiasts about why they were out there so darn early (the launch attempt was 7:05 a.m.). The many I talked to said they were there to witness history – and see NASA take its next step to the moon, and eventually send humans to Mars.

It was the first chapter of NASA’s new lunar ambitions, and for us at Central Florida Public Media, it launched a new era of space coverage.

We quickly realized our audience wanted more space coverage. Since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, there weren’t many marquee stories to tell along the Space Coast. But Orion’s first flight lit a spark in our newsroom .

Shortly after that flight, I became the de facto space reporter – my only qualification was a short stint at Space Camp in the 5th grade. As we began reporting more and more stories from the space beat, like the growing private space sector that included visits from SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos, we saw there was a growing appetite for stories like these. It led to the creation of our podcast Are We There Yet? in 2016, which, since then, has clocked over 500 episodes in its decade-long run.

And at the heart of our coverage was Orion.

In fact, one of the first stories I ever reported for NPR was on the Orion space capsule. Episode two of the podcast covered the assembly of the capsule ahead of the Artemis I mission. Years later, the podcast would head back to that same facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to meet the Artemis II capsule – and its crew. And there were countless stories and episodes in between.

The Artemis II mission captivated the audience in a way we did not see coming. As someone who has been covering space for over a decade, the Artemis II mission was always something on the horizon, and delays were a majority of the focus of my coverage for NASA’s Artemis program as a whole. What made this launch attempt any different?

But as the countdown clock reached closer to zero on April 1, 2026, I could see that Artemis II was bringing something special to our audience – and beyond.

The flight of Artemis II captivated a nation. The crew’s poignant words on a new perspective on Earth were shared in news broadcasts, social media posts, and even at my local bar. The images of Earth from the moon – a view not seen by humans since 1972 – took the collective breath away from us all here on the planet. All over social media, people shared an emotional tear when the crew announced the naming of a crater on the moon Carroll, after the late wife of commander Reid Wiseman. And we held our breath waiting for Orion’s parachutes to open, safely returning them home.

Artemis II brought to us a shared sense of wonder, discovery, adventure, understanding and place in the universe. To see so many people – even those who don’t pay much attention to space news – captivated by this mission was an incredible sight to see.

I see these things in many of the stories we cover on the space beat. Space exploration pushes our understanding of who we are and what we are capable of doing as human beings.

For example, we’ve covered the discovery of exoplanets extensively on Are We There Yet?. Exoplanets are planets outside our solar system that, until recently, were only hypothesized. The findings are changing how scientists think about our own solar systems, and whether or not we may be the only planet harboring life.

We’ve brought the curiosity of our youngest space enthusiasts to Veteran NASA astronaut Winston Scott in our segment called Curious Space. Scott answers questions kids have about space – from what astronauts eat to how they use the bathroom. It’s our thought that kids ask the best questions, so they deserve their own segment.

Our coverage also highlights challenges the space industry faces, including making space more accessible to people and diversifying the people in the workforce. While the Artemis II mission carried the first woman, the first person of color, and the first Canadian astronaut to the moon, our reporting has found that there is still much work to be done in making space more inclusive.

As humans, we are explorers, and we long for an understanding of who we are, how our planet formed, and whether or not we are alone in this universe. The Artemis II mission will help us answer those questions. The images of our planet – fragile like a glass marble on the darkest of black backdrops – gave us a new perspective of spaceship Earth amidst the vast cosmos. The geological observations of the lunar surface will help us understand our closest celestial neighbor and where it came from, and in turn, explain the origins of our own planet.

Artemis II achieved nearly all its set objectives as a test flight (except for a busted toilet). What lessons are learned from this mission will go into the following Artemis missions, including one scheduled for 2028 that will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

NASA’s administrator Jared Isaacman is calling this moment the “Golden Age of Space Exploration.” He has charged his agency with launching an Artemis mission once a year. He wants dozens of payload missions sent to the moon. And he’s calling for the creation of a lunar base to host astronauts for weeks at a time, conducting science from the moon much like we do now on the International Space Station.

Most of those missions will launch from here. Central Florida Public Media will be there to report on them.

Only time will tell if Isaacman and NASA can pull off such an ambitious vision for our lunar future. But right now, he has the public’s support. The Trump administration called for yet another cut to NASA’s budget. But a key lawmaker has rejected that proposal and seeks to fund NASA fully, a sign of support for Isaacman and his mission.

The Artemis II mission was a giant step in a new direction for NASA, one that is taking the leap beyond low-Earth orbit and venturing, once again, to places we’ve never been before. Artemis IV could take humans to the lunar South Pole, a mysterious region of the moon full of intrigue. It’s also a dangerous environment for astronauts with temperature swings that dip as low as -334°F.

Those astronauts who venture there, possibly as soon as 2028, will take us along for the journey as humanity roots them on, exploring places we’ve never been to before.

My space coverage began in 2014 with a need and desire from our audience. In this post-Artemis II moment, that desire is re-ignited. It’s our job as a news organization with a podcast that covers space to meet this moment. And we intend to do that by continuing our coverage of space on all of our platforms, with a focus on capturing the curiosity, wonder and awe of it all that the Artemis II crew brought to us.

While Artemis II’s success may have book-ended one part of my reporting career, what happens next will be the next chapter in chronicling this history. I’m excited to tell this story. And I’m incredibly gracious that you, the audience, trust me with this task.

As it is commonly said in the space world as we embark on a new journey, I’ll end with this phrase: Ad astra, which means “to the stars.”

And to the stars, we’ll tell that story.

We’re back with another Transparency Corner, and it’s just in time for Sunshine Week. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. It’s a week that celebrates something critical to news organizations like Central Florida Public Media-- access to public records and open government. Sunshine Week is celebrated across the country, and yes, also here, where Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws are actually enshrined into the state Constitution.

Now, before we really jump in, let me introduce myself. I’m Central Florida Public Media Health Reporter Joe Mario Pedersen, and having access to data collected by the government is imperative for me to keep you all informed.

Florida has a positive reputation for open records, open government, and transparency, but the Sunshine has dimmed a bit here. Oh sure, that Florida sun does not quit, but it does seem like there are a few clouds casting some shade.

I say this specifically with regard to Florida’s public health agencies. Part of my job as a health reporter is to keep my eye on Florida public health policies and diseases that healthcare providers must report if suspected or diagnosed.

Earlier this year, measles cases began popping up in Florida at alarming levels. We know that because Florida has a great tool available online that keeps track of reportable diseases (like measles) that updates every week. The tool offers information on how many cases each county is reporting and when it was reported.

That’s great information that the public can use to help protect themselves.

But what advice is the Florida Department of Health in Osceola County offering residents after last week, when the first case of measles since 2011 was reported?

We asked, and this is what the department said:

“Thanks for reaching out with your question about the measles case. The most up-to-date information is available through the FLCharts.”

I know that. In fact, that’s how I know there are measles cases. I didn’t respond with that, but I want you to know that I really wanted to.

I asked for a follow-up and reinforced the question of what advice it offers.

I have yet to hear back.

While this isn’t a direct Sunshine Law violation, it does fly in the face of open government and transparency, which is what Sunshine laws are all about.

And let me be clear, this is not an Osceola County issue. This is, unfortunately, a common type of response I’ve seen repeatedly with the Florida Department of Health. Despite Florida reporting 132 cases of measles, the third highest in the county and despite the fact that Florida has reported more cases in the first two months of this year than in any other year, the DOH has issued no notices or public advisories.

It used to, though.

The latest press release I could find from the department for a measles outbreak came from Broward County in 2024, when it documented six cases, many of which occurred in a City of Weston elementary school.

The press release said that an investigation was underway and that it was working to identify contacts that were at risk of transmission.

In fairness, there is information about the measles outbreak currently in Collier County (98 cases) on the FDOH website. Collier has the most cases in the state. The webpage states that the department is providing additional resources to monitor the area, and it leaves suggestions on what to do to prevent transmission. However, the FDOH does not list its information under a health advisory, and the word “outbreak” is noticeably missing.

I point this out because in 2024, the department released a statement concerning the cases in southeast Florida.

“Unfortunately, the measles cases in Florida have received disproportionate attention for political reasons,” the release said. 

“The national medical health establishment and the media lost the public’s confidence with their botched response to COVID-19. Conversely, Florida, under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, has set the standard for public health with evidence-based leadership.”

The concern I have is the lack of public access to that evidence. Despite being the Sunshine State, with famous “Sunshine Laws,” Florida’s Department of Health denies most of my requests for information by either becoming non-responsive, telling me the records can’t be released, or that there are no records.

Measles is hardly the only roadblock I’ve been met with. Recently, Orange County experienced a Legionella outbreak. There were 58 cases between November and December. That’s a lot in Orange County. In 2024, it reported 56 cases for the whole year. In 2025, with the autumn outbreak, the county reported a total of 107 cases – the most it has ever reported on its public archive.

What’s unclear is whether the outbreak is ongoing.

Case numbers are way down compared to December, but so far, there have been 16 people diagnosed this year. Since 1992, the county has had a yearly average case count of 19.5. I asked the department if an investigation was ongoing. They told me the case was closed and sent a letter from their lawyer denying that any information was available to the public.

Orange has not released any advisories regarding the ongoing cases.

I’ve been making records requests to the department since I arrived at Central Florida Public Media nearly four years ago. I have 10 outstanding record requests. That may not sound like a lot, but most of those are over a year old. One of them is more than 2 years old.

I follow up on these requests, and I’ve been told a team is working on them for me. However, this is the third communications director at the department who has told me this in the last two years.

What’s more perplexing are some of the roadblocks to getting these records. Some records come with a price for the work that clerks have to put in to search and send the records.

That’s fair.

What’s a little less fair is how that price is calculated sometimes. It’s pretty standard if a request costs over $100. But I’ve seen it get much higher.

I once asked the department for a list of record requests made to the department in a single month. I think I actually broke a record (at least in our newsroom) for the cost of this request when we were told it was gonna cost over $3 million.

Yup, you read that right. I don’t know exactly how much my arm and leg are worth, but I think the idiom doesn’t quite make the cut for this bill.

The department said there were over 800 items, and they were valued at over $3 million.

I challenge any journalist reading this to send me a records request price that tops that. The most I’ve ever heard prior was $10,000, and that was considered a lot!

I responded as rationally as I could and asked if there was any way we could trim that WAY down.

The department never responded.

I want to be clear, for me, this isn’t about whether people working in these departments care. Most people I know don’t choose the careers we do or work the jobs we work for the money only.

Still, there has clearly been a change in how the department is operating regarding the public. I am told by journalism veterans that it wasn’t like this prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

What I can tell you is that while the Florida Department has not been very transparent with me, I’m going to continue making records requests and calling the communications department to see what progress has been made.

At the end of the day, however, this isn’t about me; it’s about the public good. And I believe a more informed society is able to make decisions that help keep people safe and strengthen democracy.

When Florida decides to step back into the Sunshine, I’ll be here. Until then, I’ll continue being a trained, professional pest!

Elections were held in some states across the country on Tuesday. While the city of New York chose a new mayor, Californians voted on whether to redraw voting maps in a way that would help Democrats, and New Jersey and Virginia voted on new governors. In Orlando, three commission seats were up for grabs.

Here at Central Florida Public Media, our goal is to ensure we are equipping you with the information needed to make decisions that are best for you, your loved ones, your community and society as whole.

2025 has been a year with a lot of change for many of people: new government administrations, new laws, new rules and new policies. All of this change came after the elections of 2024. Midterm elections happening next year will bring more change. The state of Florida will get a new governor as Ron DeSantis is term limited and cannot run again. Orange County, which has had the same mayor since Jerry Demings was elected in 2018, will choose a new leader. There will be elections for Congressional and state lawmakers, local leaders and school board members.

There’s a lot at stake and we want to make sure that we meet your needs. Linked to this post is a survey that will help us decide the issues most important for us to cover. Responses to our election survey will help shape our coverage throughout next year.

And yes, I do know those midterm elections are still a whole year away, but election season will kick into gear much sooner than you may think. So tell us, how can we ensure you’re informed and ready to cast your ballots?

Thanks for engaging!

LaToya
News Director/Managing Editor

My name is LaToya Dennis. I’m the news director here at Central Florida Public Media. I’m not someone you hear from a lot -- I typically stay behind the scenes, working to ensure that we are living up to our mission of connecting and empowering our region through trustworthy, independent journalism and thoughtful conversation rooted in fact.
Here at Central Florida Public Media, we recently revisited our mission. Our goal was to make sure that the work we do lives up to what it says, and that our mission still aligns with our goals. We reevaluated not only our mission, but also our values – the core beliefs and principles that guide our work and decisions. Those values include integrity, independence, and courage but also transparency.

Transparency is what this column is all about.

Over the years, we’ve gotten a lot of questions from our audience asking about our reporting process: How did you come across that story? Why did you include those perspectives and not others? Why is this story important to me and my community? How do I know I can trust what you are reporting? These are some just some of the questions we receive on any given day.

Talking about the work we do, our standards, and how we actually do our jobs isn’t new to us. You can easily find our journalism ethics code of conduct and our public media code of integrity at the bottom of every story. And transparency is why we’ve previously published editor’s notes when we’ve done major series, Central Florida Seen & Heard, for example. Transparency is also why we acknowledge when we are reporting on a station sponsor—an organization that financially supports our work and receives acknowledgement on our various platforms. We want to be clear that a sponsor's financial contribution does not influence our reporting. We also acknowledge when we make a mistake.

Still, with all we do, I feel that we can do even more when it comes to giving you additional insight into the stories we’re reporting on, like the how and the why. So, we’ve decided to start talking more about our editorial process.
Every month, at least for the next year or so, we are committed to taking you behind the scenes of some of the decisions we’re making. It could be how we chose the topic for a major series we’re working on – bringing you behind the scenes into the editorial decisions that we make. It could also be about which communities we choose to hold listening sessions, which are off-the-record conversations with communities about what stories are important to them. We’re going to be talking about why we made the decisions we made and the work that goes into bringing you the news and information you need to make decisions in your day-to-day life.

In a world full of claims of fake news and distortion of the facts, we want to reassure you that you can count on us to do our jobs of bringing you trustworthy, independent journalism and thoughtful conversation rooted in fact.

We’re also launching a brief questionnaire for you to take at the end of our digital stories this week. Did you learn something new? Were multiple perspectives adequately represented? What questions do you have after our reporting? Our goal is always to keep you informed and find ways to better serve you.

Thanks for engaging!

LaToya