News Collaborative of Central Florida Receives $50K to Support Continued Growth
The group, which includes the Winter Park Voice, also hired its first project manager
Jan. 13, 2026
Staff Report
News Collaborative of Central Florida (NCCF), a collective of independent local news outlets and aligned partners working toward a more informed and engaged Central Florida, is announcing the next phase in its evolving service to the region. NCCF launched publicly in January of 2025 to collaborate on reporting about the local impacts of Florida’s Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping law (House Bill 1365). Over 100 stories were shared, amplifying reach of this vital reporting to residents.
That success has now been met with a combined $50,000 in funding from Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub (the Hub) and Central Florida Foundation, fueling the Collaborative’s next phase of growth. As part of this evolution, NCCF has onboarded its first dedicated team member, and in 2026, NCCF partners will pool their resources to provide comprehensive coverage of this year’s elections.
“Our first year made it clear that collaborative journalism works, and we’re ready to take on elections coverage – made possible by the support from Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub and Central Florida Foundation,” says Judith Smelser, NCCF’s first task force chair and Central Florida Public Media’s president and general manager. “Ongoing community support is essential to sustaining this unique journalism model and ensuring it can continue delivering impactful reporting year over year.”
NCCF has contracted with Erica Rodriguez Kight as a dedicated project manager to establish governance, coordinate communication across partner organizations and support community engagement efforts that bring residents into the reporting process. Erica is the assistant director for mass media at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida, where she’s also an associate lecturer in journalism and media production. Her background includes reporting roles at The Bradenton Herald and ABC affiliate WCJB-TV and a reporting fellowship with Cortico AI.
“Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub provides comprehensive support to journalism collaboratives across the U.S.,” says Amy Maestas, director of Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub. “News Collaborative of Central Florida is the first of 20 collaboratives the Hub will support over the next five years to advance the field of collaborative journalism. NCCF is a strong and dedicated group of media and community organizations that are willing to evolve from a competitive mindset to collaboration as a commitment to bringing stronger journalism to their communities. We look forward to being a resource as they join the robust and growing practice of collaborative journalism in the U.S.”
Central Florida Foundation serves as a convener, operational advisor and fiscal sponsor for NCCF and is an independent, trusted bridge builder across the journalism ecosystem. As the initial charitable investor in this emerging journalism model, Central Florida Foundation is proud to support local media coming together to better serve the region.
“This collaboration of journalists comes online at a critical moment, when Central Floridians are facing important decisions. By bringing together a more diverse group of journalists committed to helping residents understand what they are voting on, the News Collaborative of Central Florida plays an important role in strengthening our community,” says Mark Brewer, president and CEO, Central Florida Foundation. “Central Florida Foundation has a long history of supporting civic engagement, and local media is a vital pillar of a healthy, civically engaged region.”
The Winter Park Voice is contributing reporting and editing to provide resources and information to empower readers in Winter Park to be more engaged Central Florida residents.
“We know how much our readers value trustworthy news about their city and we are excited to bring them even more information about the 2026 ballots through the next phase of this partnership,” said Beth Kassab, editor of the Voice. “As a small nonprofit devoted to local news, we believe collaborations like this one are the way forward to keep credible, fact-based and independently-vetted information accessible to our community.”
Together, the media outlets participating in NCCF will be able to dig deeper into important local issues, cover more candidates and races and engage more community members.
WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com
Recent Comments