By: Sharon Aron Baron

Talk Media, which includes Coral Springs Talk, took home first place for independent website at the Florida Press Club’s 2018 Excellence in Journalism competition on November 3.

The event, which recognizes journalists from all over Florida, was held in Mount Dora and featured keynote speaker Columnist Frank Cerabino with The Palm Beach Post. Cerabino covered the William Kennedy Smith trial in 1991, the 2000 election debacle which included the infamous hanging chads, and now covers Donald Trump’s Winter White House nearby. He is the author of several books including the “Shady Palms” series and “Writing Like a Taller Person.”

Founded in 1950 as the Florida Women’s Press Club by Frances DeVore as a way to fight inequities which kept women from career advancement in the news industry, the name was later changed to the Florida Press Club. The organization, now led by Anne Geggis and Fred Bellet, counts hundreds of Florida journalists among its ranks at newspapers across the state.

Talk Media, located in Coral Springs, includes: Tamarac Talk, Coral Springs Talk and Parkland Talk. Currently, there are three contributing writers and one food critic. Covering news and politics in northwest Broward County,  Talk Media was chosen based on timely and relevant news of the day as well as articles that were good examples of feature reporting in independent online news.

This year’s winner of the Frances DeVore Public Service award went to Josh Salman, Dak Le and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for their story One War. Two Races. Also, winning the Lucy Morgan Award for in-depth reporting went to The Miami Herald, the Daytona Beach News Journal and the Panama City News Herald.
To join the Florida Press Club, go to FPC.