OUR ORIGINS & PEOPLE
OUR ORIGINS
OUR ORIGINS
OUR ORIGINS
Suncoast Searchlight grew from a desire to address the local impacts of the nation’s rapidly shrinking news industry and preserve within the region the strength of the fourth estate.
Seeded by a generous grant from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, that desire first took shape in 2023 as the Community News Collaborative (CNC) – a
Suncoast Searchlight grew from a desire to address the local impacts of the nation’s rapidly shrinking news industry and preserve within the region the strength of the fourth estate.
Seeded by a generous grant from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, that desire first took shape in 2023 as the Community News Collaborative (CNC) – a nonprofit newsroom housed under Tampa Bay-area NPR affiliate WUSF that produced community news for local media partners.
In 2024, the CNC reformed as an independent 501c3 with a separate governing board and a more focused mission of producing investigative, watchdog and explanatory journalism under the name Suncoast Searchlight.
OUR BOARD
OUR ORIGINS
OUR ORIGINS
The five-member governing board of the Suncoast Searchlight consists of veteran journalists, a media attorney and a retired executive who meet regularly to provide guidance and oversight of our operations. They are:
- Keith Woods, chief diversity officer, National Public Radio (NPR)
- Kelly McBride, senior vice president, The Poynter Institute
- C
The five-member governing board of the Suncoast Searchlight consists of veteran journalists, a media attorney and a retired executive who meet regularly to provide guidance and oversight of our operations. They are:
- Keith Woods, chief diversity officer, National Public Radio (NPR)
- Kelly McBride, senior vice president, The Poynter Institute
- Chris Davis, deputy investigations editor, The New York Times
- Carol LoCicero, managing partner, Thomas & LoCicero LP
- Sam Scott, retired chairman, president and CEO of Corn Products International
OUR STAFF
OUR ORIGINS
OUR STAFF
Suncoast Searchlight will soon have a newsroom of four reporters who will report to Executive Editor-in-Chief Emily Le Coz.
Emily comes to Suncoast Searchlight from USA TODAY, where she spent five years as an investigative reporter and editor, producing and overseeing some of the news organization's most ambitious work.
Prior to USA TODAY,
Suncoast Searchlight will soon have a newsroom of four reporters who will report to Executive Editor-in-Chief Emily Le Coz.
Emily comes to Suncoast Searchlight from USA TODAY, where she spent five years as an investigative reporter and editor, producing and overseeing some of the news organization's most ambitious work.
Prior to USA TODAY, Emily led GateHouse Media's national data and investigations team, which published its work throughout the country. She also previously served as deputy investigations editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where she was part of the award-winning Bias on the Bench series.
Emily has lived in Sarasota since 2015