Florida Phoenix was established in 2018 as a left-leaning news and opinion outlet focused on government and political news coverage within the state of Florida. ¹ It is part of the left-of-center media organization States Newsroom (formerly the Newsroom Network), ² which was until 2019 a project of the Hopewell Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit managed by the for-profit consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ³

Florida Phoenix is also supported by the Washington DC-based New Venture Fund, another grantmaking and project sponsorship nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors. New Venture Fund is underwritten by organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. ⁴

New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund, and Arabella Advisors have faced criticism for creating a “dark money” network of left-of-center advocacy organizations. ⁵

People

Diane Rado is the Editor-In-Chief, and former Deputy Editor, with over thirty years of experience in journalism. Rado covered education and policy stories for the Chicago Tribune, and covered the governor and legislature of Florida as part of her political reporting for the St. Petersburg (now the Tampa Bay) Times. ⁶

Michael Moline is the Deputy Editor, and has more than thirty years experience covering politics and the legal system. He has formerly worked for the San Francisco Daily Journal, the National Law Journal, Florida Politics, and United Press International, where he covered the Florida Capitol. ⁷

Reporter Lloyd Dunkelberger has been covering Florida government for over thirty years. He has worked for Florida Politics and the News Service of Florida. ⁸

Reporter Laura Cassels works for Florida’s Capitol Press Corps in Tallahassee, where she was formerly the bureau chief for Florida Freedom Newspapers. Cassels is the former city editor at the Panama City News Herald. ⁹

Reporter Issac Morgan formerly covered city council at the Gadsden County Times, and formerly worked for the Tallahassee Democrat, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Florida Law Weekly. ¹⁰

Contributor Mitch Perry has covered news and politics in Florida for nearly twenty years, most recently for FloridaPolitics.com. Perry is the former assistant news director at WMNF radio, having started his career at the Pacifica Foundation-owned KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California. ¹¹

Contributor Julie Hauserman is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Phoenix. Hauserman has been covering Florida for more than thirty years, and is a former Capitol bureau reporter for the St. Petersburg (now the Tampa Bay) Times. She has previously reported for the Stuart News, and the Tallahassee Democrat, and was a commentator for Weekend Edition Sunday on National Public Radio. ¹²

Contributor CD Davidson-Hiers formerly worked at the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee Magazine. ¹³

Parent Organization

For more information, see States Newsroom

The Newsroom Network was created under the auspices of the Hopewell Fund, a public charity operated as a project sponsorship and pass-through funding entity as part of the Arabella Advisors liberal advocacy network, to provide left-of-center-framed coverage of state politics and policy.

In 2019, Newsroom Network rebranded as States Newsroom and became an independent nonprofit organization. A past job posting for States Newsroom described the organization as a “progressive political journalism startup.” ¹⁴

1. Smith, Adam C. “Welcome a New News Outlet to Tallahassee.” Tampa Bay Times, July 5, 2018. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/07/05/welcome-a-new-news-outlet-to-tallahassee/.
2. “About.” Florida Phoenix, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.floridaphoenix.com/about/.
3. Hopewell Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Schedule O.
4. Flanigan, Tom. “New State Government News Operation Launched in Tallahassee.” WFSU, July 9, 2018. https://news.wfsu.org/post/new-state-government-news-operation-launched-tallahassee.
5. Shaw, Adam. “’Shadowy’ Dark Money Network Behind Left-Wing Causes Exposed in New Report.” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, April 17, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/shadowy-dark-money-network-behind-left-wing-causes-exposed-in-new-report/.
6. “Diane Rado.” Chicago Tribune, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-diane-rado-staff.html.
7. “About.” Florida Phoenix, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.floridaphoenix.com/about/.
8. “About.” Florida Phoenix, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.floridaphoenix.com/about/.
9. “About.” Florida Phoenix, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.floridaphoenix.com/about/.
10. “About.” Florida Phoenix, 2019. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.floridaphoenix.com/about/.
11. Smith, Adam C. “Welcome a New News Outlet to Tallahassee.” Tampa Bay Times, July 5, 2018. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/07/05/welcome-a-new-news-outlet-to-tallahassee/.
12. Smith, Adam C. “Welcome a New News Outlet to Tallahassee.” Tampa Bay Times, July 5, 2018. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/07/05/welcome-a-new-news-outlet-to-tallahassee/.
13. Smith, Adam C. “Welcome a New News Outlet to Tallahassee.” Tampa Bay Times, July 5, 2018. Accessed January 19, 2020. https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/07/05/welcome-a-new-news-outlet-to-tallahassee/.
14. “States Newsroom Hiring Media Administrative Assistant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 29, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/media-administrative-assistant-at-states-newsroom-1362718370/.