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Each year, 12 broadcast journalists and 12 print journalists are selected to participate in the Annual Florida Bar Reporters’ Workshop, presented by The Florida Bar’s Media and Communications Law Committee. Florida media outlets — including alternative media — are invited to nominate reporters for participation in the workshop. The Bar encourages the nomination of reporters from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, genders, ethnicities, ages, physical abilities and languages. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 3.
The workshop is an intensive, two-day event for journalists new to the courts and legal beats. Reporters learn the basics in legal reporting from lawyers, judges and other experienced journalists. The workshop also educates the media on judicial issues such as separation of powers and independence of the judiciary. Last year’s program included sessions on the Bar’s disciplinary process; covering the Supreme Court of Florida; open courts, open records; judicial activism; the role of the appellate courts; a session titled “What Reporters Don’t Know/What Reporters Should Know;” legal resources on the Internet; libel, privacy and false light; and Florida’s Sunshine Law and open records laws. The event also features luncheon speakers and an evening reception and dinner with the Supreme Court justices on the 22nd floor of the Capitol.
The cost of two nights’ hotel accommodations and event meals are covered by a Florida Bar Foundation workshop scholarship available to each reporter. Transportation to Tallahassee and all incidentals, such as parking, room service, phone calls and other charges, are the responsibility of the participant.
Editors, publishers or producers, please submit letters of nomination by mail or e-mail to: Creston Nelson-Morrill, Event Coordinator,The Florida Bar, 651 E. Jefferson St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300, or [email protected].