“Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts laughs during the Poynter Institute’s Bowtie Ball in Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 16, 2024. (Alex Smyntyna/Poynter)

Nelson Poynter, the late publisher of what’s now called the Tampa Bay Times and the founder of what’s now called the Poynter Institute, was a bow tie guy. 

On Saturday night, a few hundred of us were, too, for Poynter’s annual fundraiser, the Bowtie Ball. We celebrated the career of “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts, who deservedly got the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement. 

But we also celebrated a lot of local journalists. 

Among them: The staff of the Independent Florida Alligator for their coverage of former University of Florida president Ben Sasse’s astronomical spending and the high-salary positions he gave to his former staff and colleagues. (It’s worth noting that The New York Times just picked up this story this week.) 

We celebrated the work of journalists from AL.com, whose reporting on the policing of a small Alabama town won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023.

And local journalists who covered the two hurricanes to hit Tampa Bay this fall were recognized, as was a local doctor and influencer, Dr. Meghan Martin. 

It was a lovely moment to pause, celebrate, and then get back to work. 

While you’re here:

• Read how the American Journalism Project is supporting The Colorado Sun and The Salt Lake Tribune. 

• From NPR, see what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution plans to do with $150 million. 

• My colleague, Jon Greenberg, is looking for examples of great journalism, he wrote on LinkedIn, particularly “in work that deals with immigration, housing, climate change, and polarization in America, but I welcome stories on any topic. I plan to fold examples into our Beat Academy training sessions, and I am looking at one-on-one conversations with writers/producers to dissect the back story of how good works happens.” You can email [email protected] with links. 

• And read this message from the editor and publisher of the Marion County Record, the Kansas newspaper that was raided by police. 

That’s it for me. This newsletter will take a break next week and then be back for a few December editions. (And, of course, I did get to wear a bow tie Saturday night.)