Florida Student News Watch
Vision
The Florida Student News Watch is committed to promoting the development of young writers as environmentally-conscious journalists and researchers.
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The News Watch is committed to emboldening younger writers to value their work and respect the rigor of journalistic efforts, including fact-checking, accountability and transparency.
Writers may be matched with mentors - professional journalists and nonfiction writers - who assist with navigating the requirements of a story and the publishing landscape when placing a polished piece. The focus of News Watch stories include education, sustainability, social justice, and community health in an environmental context. ​
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All student members of the News Watch are paid for their work at a rate of $0.10/word.
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Founded in 2020 by journalist CD Davidson-Hiers, the News Watch is committed to the value of public journalism.
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Meet the Masthead
Des Lewis
Managing Editor
Des Lewis is an English major at Florida State University pursuing a career in journalism. She is a correspondent for Planet Forward and interned with the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
Founder & Director
CD is a journalist and creative writer based in North Florida. She has a background as a K12 education and COVID-19 state data journalist and her work has appeared at the Bitter Southerner, Flamingo Magazine, USAToday, The Nation and elsewhere.