Miami
Florida Politics highlights backing for Alex Rizo and condemns cuts at the Miami Herald
The outlet placed the Republican lawmaker among the week’s winners in Florida politics and named McClatchy among the losers after staff reductions at the Miami newspaper. It also reviewed other political and legal fights across the state.
Florida Politics used its weekly winners-and-losers roundup to spotlight two developments in Florida: the growing institutional support behind Alex Rizo and the job cuts carried out by McClatchy at the Miami Herald.
The publication said Rizo emerged as one of the week’s winners as a Special Election for Senate District 39 begins to take shape, even though no date has been officially set. Ron DeSantis, along with current and incoming Senate leaders, lined up behind Rizo ahead of an expected Republican Primary against fellow state lawmaker David Borrero. Florida Politics noted that no Democrat had filed in the heavily Republican district.
According to the outlet, the seat opened after Bryan Ávila left the Senate last month to run for Lieutenant Governor alongside Byron Donalds.
Florida Politics named Joe Gruters the week’s biggest winner, pointing to his role in organizing a midterm Republican National Committee convention in Dallas. The gathering featured Donald Trump, JD Vance, Cabinet officials and multiple candidates, in what the outlet described as an effort to energize Republican turnout less than two months before the election. The review said reaction to the event was mixed.
Among the honorable mentions, the outlet pointed to the pro-Amendment 3 campaign after Florida Realtors contributed $10 million to a committee supporting a yes vote. Florida Politics said the amendment needs 60% approval in November and remains under scrutiny because of its potential effect on local property-tax revenue.
On the losers side, Florida Politics singled out Anthony Sabatini over a civil assault lawsuit filed in July against Byron Donalds on behalf of Kelly Mason over a 2022 confrontation in Naples. After Donalds won the gubernatorial primary, Sabatini filed a voluntary dismissal with prejudice, preventing the same claim from being brought again, the outlet reported.
The publication also listed Netflix as an almost-biggest loser because of a lawsuit brought by Attorney General James Uthmeier. Florida Politics said the state alleges the company tracked how adults and children used the platform and employed design features meant to keep children watching. Netflix answered that the case lacks merit and said it complies with data-protection laws, according to the report.
Florida Politics reserved its harshest judgment for McClatchy, calling it the week’s biggest loser after 30 positions were eliminated at the Miami Herald, including 10 already vacant roles. The outlet cited deputy investigations editor Carol Marbin Miller, who described the cuts as a bloodbath and said the newsroom would be left with fewer than 50 journalists after this round.
The affected positions, according to Florida Politics, included Miami City Hall reporter Tess Riski, sportswriter Michelle Kaufman, deputy sports editor Andre Fernandez and photographer Alie Skowronski. The report also said all reporters from El Nuevo Herald were let go, the Miami City Hall beat was eliminated, and an already vacant Miami Beach beat will remain unfilled.
Florida Politics said McClatchy attributed the move to a 41% drop in consumer revenue over the past five years and described it as part of broader cuts across the company’s newspapers nationwide. The outlet argued that the downsizing weakens coverage in one of the state’s largest and busiest local-government environments.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
