Florists' Review Media Group has served the global floral in study for over 124 years.
Issue link: http://floridahomesmag.uberflip.com/i/535560
GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 59 L Jennifer Orsi Managing Editor, Tampa Bay Times A passionate editor and newsroom manager, Orsi, 48, leads the day-to-day operations of her hometown paper, the Tampa Bay Times. Last year, she was named the first woman in the newspaper's 130-year history to lead both the print and online daily content. In an industry that has struggled against dwindling print circulation figures and advertising dollars, and competed with the 24/7 cycle that television, cable news and social media channels demand, Orsi remains fiercely protective and optimistic about the newspaper industry. She is dedicated to the award-winning staff at the Times, making sure the longstanding traditions of excellence, credibility and engaging storytelling continue with the next generation of journalists. e mother of two teenaged children, Orsi and her husband, Times Deputy Sports Editor Mike Stephenson, juggle the demands of two high-profile journalism careers at the same company and parenting duties. Here, in her own words, Orsi talks about her early days reporting, her perspective on the changing landscape of journalism, the sacrifices women make, and the legacy she would like to leave. How did your love of journalism begin? I grew up in the Clearwater/Dunedin area. I went to Dunedin High School. I think my love of journalism began in 7th grade. I took a newspaper elective class because I like to write. at introduced me to journalism and writing. Early on in high school, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I was editor of my high school newspaper and I majored in journalism at Indiana University, where I was editor-in-chief of my college paper too. e Times has long standing ties to Indiana University. One of the former leading editors at the Times, Nelson Poynter, attended Indiana University so there's a long time connection between the newspaper and the school. I was lucky enough to be hired by the Times when I graduated and completed a couple of internships as well. What was your first job when you were hired at the Times? Back then, the Times was moving into Hillsborough County in a head-to-head competition with e Tampa Tribune, so I was part of the early efforts in Tampa. I covered the Brandon and East Hillsborough area community news. I did that for a year and then I covered Hillsborough County government for several years, then headed a bureau in Carrollwood reporting and editing. After that I moved into editing full-time. What type of reporter were you when you first started? I was pretty wide eyed! I think I loved journalism for two main reasons. I loved to write and I loved to find things out. I think as a reporter I was curious. I asked a lot of questions. I tried to look beyond the surface. I also found that I cared a lot about the local community. Most of my career has been spent covering local news and I found I really enjoyed the response I got from readers when I wrote about something they cared very deeply about. I tried to tell people what they needed to know to make better decisions about their lives and to Continued page 60 Like most journalists, Jennifer Orsi knew at an early age what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. With a natural curiosity for asking inquisitive questions and never satisfied with the first answer, Orsi honed her reporting skills to build a 25-year- plus career at the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times). By Katherine Ferrara Johnson