Florida Newspaper Exposes Sweet Deal for State Politicians

By: Susannah Nesmith | CJR

MIAMI, FL — The Tampa Bay Times has been rolling out an impressive expose of secret hunting trips to Texas taken by more than a dozen current and former Florida lawmakers and officials including Gov. Rick Scott, who is in a tight race for reelection.

While the findings may strike some readers as business as usual in politics, the story involved some clever public records reporting and good follow-up by the Times’ Craig Pittman and Michael Van Sickler.