\u201cUniversities are in a position to help fill this gap with creative solutions. We think this is one of them.\u201d\u00a0 \u2014 Rick Brunson, associate instructor of journalism<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cUniversities are in a position to help fill this gap with creative solutions. We think this is one of them,\u201d Brunson says. \u201cOur site is a database designed to equip, inform and empower citizens to fully participate and engage in their representative democracy at its most local level. That\u2019s right in line with the mission of journalism and our journalism program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparation on the project began in May to develop the research-based website of public records and data with a focus on public accountability.<\/p>\n
Launching of the site \u2013 funded by a two-year, $125,000 grant from Winter Park philanthropist Glen Salow and the Salow Transparency Project \u2013 coincided with Sunshine Week in Florida, an annual media initiative to educate the public about Florida\u2019s Government in the Sunshine laws, the importance of open government, and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.<\/p>\n
In addition to the already-posted information, more data sets will be added over time as the research team collects and curates more records, Brunson says.<\/p>\n
Along with Brunson, the project is overseen by Alex Glover, a Winter Park website developer, and Nicholson graduate research assistants Raby Tall \u201915<\/strong> and Lindsay Manganiello.<\/p>\nIn addition to the editorial side of this project, Nicholson lecturer Erica Kight will lead the research of the project, which will include surveys with Winter Park residents and users of the site to determine how useful it is to them and how much of an impact the site is having. The site\u2019s analytics also will be used to determine how much it\u2019s being used and in what ways, so that hopefully the results can be published in peer-reviewed communication journals and presented at conferences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nicholson School holds as the first point of its mission to promote \u2018Free inquiry, free speech and the free flow of information and ideas,’\u201d Brunson says. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what this project is about.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The project aims to help inform citizens of publicly available data and augment the region\u2019s media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":107728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[982,2562,3393,3992],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-107727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-journalism","tag-nicholson-school-of-communication-and-media","tag-rick-brunson"],"yoast_head":"\n
UCF\u2019s Nicholson School Launches New Website to Promote Open Government | 海角直播 News<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n