By: Sharon Aron Baron
At Florida Press Club’s 2017 Excellence in Journalism Competition on Saturday night, Tamarac Talk took home the award for first place for independent website.
The event, held in Sarasota, was attended by journalists from all over the state of Florida. The keynote speaker was Mike Foley, master lecturer at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communication who has worked at the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times as well as served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize. Known as a tough teacher who expects improvement, many of his former students who have gone on to work at prestigious news organizations have worn his early low grades as a badge of honor. He shared his insights into the state of the news industry, as well as his thoughts on the next generation of journalists.
An online publication providing news for the residents of Tamarac, Florida, Tamarac Talk began in 2011 by editor Sharon Aron Baron. The website has two writers and several contributing writers. Over the years, they have covered topics such as corruption in Tamarac politics; residents’ efforts to recall a Tamarac commissioner; the fight against a charter school near a large senior community; the successful removal of antiquated Sunday Blue Laws from the city’s ordinances; and most recently, a story about the city commission overspending on their expense accounts.
Other Talk Media websites include Coral Springs Talk and Parkland Talk which cover northwest Broward County.
We are so happy that the judges recognized Tamarac Talk and the work that we do. We are also thankful for all of our faithful readers that keep visiting the site looking for new stories. They make doing this worthwhile.
