Mission Statement

FlaglerLive is a nonprofit journalism enterprise that will publish FlaglerLive.com on the Web. Our mission is to provide high-quality, original journalism — reporting, analysis, commentary and open discussions — five days a week. FlaglerLive does not intend to replace readers’ and viewers’ existing news sources but to augment and enrich them while setting itself apart as the most reliable and comprehensive source of news for the county. Flagler County has traditionally been underserved by the news media and by effective watchdog journalism. FlaglerLive intends to fill that void.

The focus will primarily be public policy, government, business, culture and the environment: How Flagler works, why it is the way it is, and how it can be made better. Flagler County is not an island. State, national and global concerns will inform local perspectives with a strong, clear and engaging voice.

The site will feature video and audio, but will put its greatest emphasis on written content with little gimmickry or fluff. The writing will be lively, authoritative and breezy. Commentary pieces from the community will be welcomed, as will comments from readers on individual stories. Broad-ranging, civil discussion from many points of view will be encouraged and fostered, including a community newsmakers’ blog that will be a revolving, unfiltered electronic OpEd space for local policy makers, civic, business, educational leaders and others who shape, or should shape, the county’s direction. While all perspectives will be welcomed, FlaglerLive will have a decidedly progressive voice and philosophy.

Following the emerging model of other non-profit ventures on the Web’s journalistic cutting edge, our goal is to create a sustainable business model for this kind of journalism, supported by corporate underwriters, advertisers, grants and members who make annual donations. FlaglerLive will not charge an access or subscription fee. But it will encourage frequent visitors to pledge their support as they would to their public radio station or their local school. High-quality journalism is a community asset that sustains democracy and quality of life, so we will ask people who believe in it to support our work.

FlaglerLive is not just an experiment or a work in progress. It is part of the redefinition of how news is produced, packaged and delivered. It is doing for Flagler County, and in Flagler County, what only a few organizations are attempting to do, some with unquestionable success, across the United States as print and other traditional forms of journalism deconstruct, and often self-destruct. We will think big. We will put a premium on creativity, risk and daring without fearing the occasional and inevitable failure along the way.
Successful journalism is not disappearing. It is being remodeled. We don’t intend merely to tag along, but to help shape that new model.