Just as it’s named the state’s best political bloggers and tweeters, the Washington Post today named the best capitol reporters in Florida.
Making the list are the Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas, the Tampa Bay Times‘ Steve Bousquet and Michael Van Sickler, the AP’s Brendan Farrington and Gary Fineout, Florida Times-Union reporter Matt Dixon, Orlando Sentinel’s Aaron Deslatte, Palm Beach Post’s John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald Tribune’s Lloyd Dunkelberger, and the News Service of Florida’s Brandon Larrabee.
Of course Bousquet and Klas deserve to be on the list, as do Fineout and Kennedy. It’s good to see Deslatte and Dixon make the list. In fact, for my money, Dixon is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the group, meaning he does the most with the least resources from his news organization (as opposed to Bousquet or Klas, who are backed by significant resources).
Interesting to see Van Sickler on this list, as opposed to other veterans who have been covering the capitol for years. Good for you, Mike!
Which reporters got snubbed?
Start with the News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam, who has been turning heads with her coverage of the debate over expanding gambling in Florida.
I’m surprised the Florida Current’s/Tallahassee Democrat‘s Bill Cotterell is not on the list. Maybe the WaPo deciders think Cotterell retired when he said he was retiring.
The Tampa Bay Times‘ Tia Mitchell has a lot of fans and covers some aspects of Tallahassee that aren’t as easy to access as big-ticket items such as the Governor’s office.
I assume the WaPo deciders focuses solely on print reporters because there’s no one from a TV (Troy Kinsey, Mike Vasilinda), radio (Lynn Hatter) or web-only outlet (Bruce Ritchie).
Regardless of the snubs, congratulations to those who made the list. Florida’s capitol press corps is considered one of, if not, the best in the country.
