4 December 29, 2022 - January 4, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ FLORIDA PAYING FAVORITES? FLORIDA POLITICS PUBLISHER EXPLAINS “COMBINATION JOURNALISM” AFTER PAY-TO-PLAY ACCUSATIONS. BY ALEX DELUCA A handful of news outlets across Alabama and the Sunshine State have taken money over the years from consulting firm Matrix LLC, allegedly in ex- change for positive coverage of two utility companies, Alabama Power and Florida Power and Light (FPL), according to a probe by journalism cooperative Floodlight. While previous coverage detailed how FPL and Matrix had covert control over the Tallahassee-based outlet the Capitolist and used it to attack FPL’s critics, a recent report by Floodlight and NPR has now linked the popular news site Florida Politics to the un- folding saga. As detailed in the report, Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch received $100,000 from Apryl Marie Fogel of Matrix-connected outfit Alabama Today, for “editorial and digi- tal tech services,” as Schorsch framed it. (Fo- gel is described in the report as a romantic partner of former Matrix CEO Jeff Pitts.) Schorsch said he also received $43,000 in ad- vertising dollars from FPL. Unlike the other five outlets named in the report, the St. Petersburg-based Florida Poli- tics is apparently conceding that it takes ad- vertising money and third-party contributions into consideration when decid- ing how to prioritize coverage. In an inter- view with NPR and Floodlight, Schorsch said he practices “combination journalism” — which entails giving priority coverage to ad- vertisers like FPL without handing over control of content, he claims. Schorsch tells New Times he’s “just more open about the fact that there is a business side to this operation.” “It would be naive to think that the people that advertise and that I do financial business with are not going to get preference in terms of the priority of coverage, not necessarily the direction of the coverage, but the priority of coverage,” he says. According to the Floodlight-NPR report, former Florida Politics reporter Ryan Ray said Schorsch did push him to write favorably about the site’s advertisers. Ray said that there is “no question” that big industry play- ers paid Schorsch for rosy coverage or to make unflattering stories go away. Schorsch maintains those allegations are false. In August, after the Miami Herald, Or- lando Sentinel, and Floodlight broke news about how FPL and Matrix had taken control of the Capitolist to push FPL’s narrative as news — Schorsch became a vocal critic of the outlet. He published an article that referred to the Capitolist as “radioactive.” Schorsch wrote that he was particularly perturbed by emails cited in the bombshell coverage, in which the Capitolist publisher and editor-in-chief Brian Burgess appeared to float the idea of Matrix buying out Gan- nett-owned local newspapers in Florida, fir- ing all the “clown reporters,” and turning the publications into spigots for propaganda. “My advice to you now is to shutter the Capitolist,” Schorsch wrote in the August 2 post, adding, “I won’t be lecturing you about the ethics of journalism, because I am one of the last people to judge you in this regard.” Schorsch insists that unlike the Capitolist, there have never been editorial discussions between Florida Politics and FPL consultants through which FPL dictated the tone of his publication’s coverage. “I don’t think that I’m in that category,” Schorsch says. “Maybe I’m naive, but I know that I can look myself in the mirror about the work that we’re doing.” Schorsch, a former political operative who broke the news about the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club, was previously ac- cused of pay-to-play with advertisers in 2013, when a handful of people active in Florida politics told the Tampa Bay Times that he had tried to pressure them for “hundreds or thou- sands of dollars” in exchange for positive arti- cles or the eradication of negative ones. The local Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office investigated him for the allegations but later dropped the matter without filing charges, the Times reported. | RIPTIDE | Photo by Florida Power & Light ▼ MIAMI PARTICIPATION TROPHY JAVIER ORTIZ COMES UP SHORT IN THE RACE FOR POLICE UNION BOSS. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN F ired Miami Police Captain Javier Ortiz has lost his comeback attempt to become president of Miami’s Fraternal Order of Police, his second unsuccessful bid for the union boss position since 2020. Two other candidates, current union presi- dent Tommy Reyes and vice president Felix Del Rosario, will be facing off against each other in a runoff election since neither secured more than 50 percent of the vote. Ortiz received 337 votes, while Del Rosario and Reyes garnered 452 and 554 votes, respectively. In a campaign video, Ortiz, who was fired in September for alleged improper overtime pay practices, vowed to address discriminatory treat- ment that he says is plaguing Black officers in the Miami Police Department (MPD). “FOP has been compromised,” Ortiz said in the video. “There’s no unity and that is really something that has drawn me to run.” Ortiz previously served as union president of Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 20 from 2011 to late 2017. Earlier this month, Reyes explained to New Times that because Ortiz is appealing his firing, he remained a member of Lodge 20 and was therefore eligible to run for union president. Though he promoted a racial justice platform, Ortiz faced numerous accusations of racially in- sensitive behavior and prejudice while on the force. The controversial cop was suspended for more than a year, beginning in early 2020, pend- ing a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation into allegations that he tar- geted minorities as an officer. During a city commission meeting in 2020, after it came to light that he claimed to be Black on two promotional applications, the Hispanic and white officer insisted he is African American under the antiquated “one drop rule.” Over his 18 years on the force, Ortiz tallied more than 50 citizen complaints and 20 use-of-force incidents. Sergeant Reyes has been with the Miami Police Department since 2006, serving in the robbery unit and as a neighborhood resource officer, among other positions. He gained popularity among MPD officers when he resisted department pay cuts during the pandemic. The sergeant previously beat out Ortiz for FOP president in a 2021 election after Ortiz mounted a campaign while he was still suspended. Reyes has been embroiled in controversy of his own this year. He was suspended with pay for much of 2022 as internal affairs investigated a Tallahassee inci- dent in which Reyes pulled a gun on a Grindr date who allegedly stole his police badge and wallet. After finding Reyes violated departmen- tal orders, internal affairs recommended a 40- hour suspension. However, Chief Manuel Morales had the final say. As reported by WLRN, the chief wrote in his reprimand that Reyes “was a victim of a feloni- ous crime,” and that he would receive a 20-hour suspension without pay. [email protected] GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS “THERE’S NO UNITY AND THAT IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT HAS DRAWN ME TO RUN.” Florida Politics is one of the latest outlets revealed to have financial ties with consultants for FPL.
