PHOTO BY ROMAN KRAFT VIA UNSPLASH.COM
The News Collaborative of Central Florida (Website), a growing alliance of independent local news organizations and community partners, is entering a new phase of development after securing $50,000 in funding.
Launched publicly in January 2025, NCCF was formed to coordinate coverage of the local impacts of Florida’s Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping law, House Bill 1365. That initial effort resulted in more than 100 stories published across partner outlets, which expanded the reach of reporting on how the law affected communities across Central Florida and helped pool resources for more accurate and comprehensive reports.
Building on that early success, NCCF has received funding from the Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub and Central Florida Foundation to support its next stage of growth. The investment will allow the Collaborative to formalize its operations, add staff support, and undertake more ambitious shared reporting projects, including coordinated coverage of elections in 2026.
“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,” said Judith Smelser, NCCF’s first task force chair and president and general manager of Central Florida Public Media.
As part of this expansion, NCCF has contracted Erica Rodriguez Kight (LinkedIn) as its first dedicated project manager. In this role, she will help establish governance structures, coordinate communication among partner organizations, and support community engagement initiatives designed to involve residents directly in the reporting process. Rodriguez Kight is assistant director for mass media at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida and an associate lecturer in journalism and media production. Her professional background includes reporting roles at The Bradenton Herald and WCJB-TV, as well as a reporting fellowship with Cortico AI.
Confirmed participants in NCCF’s 2026 election collaboration include Central Florida Public Media, LkldNow, Ocala Gazette, Orlando Sentinel, Osceola News Gazette, Oviedo Community News, VoxPopuli, Winter Park Voice and WKMG News 6.
