The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
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Mary Ellen Klas: The Next Florida – Legislative Preview
November 9, 2011
One of Florida’s leading political journalists shared her thoughts and perspectives on the upcoming legislative session and reflected on the current battles over redistricting at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
Mary Ellen Klas, capital bureau chief for The Miami Herald spoke as part of the “Next Florida” speaker series—a partnership between the Bob Graham Center and the UF College of Journalism and Communications. The program was held on November 9th at 6 p.m. in UF’s Pugh Hall and like all events at the Graham Center, was free and open to the public.
This is a pivotal year in state politics. The Florida House will begin the once-a-decade process of redrawing Florida’s state legislative and congressional district boundary lines. Those lines can significantly alter the demographic makeup of a community and have a dramatic impact on representation at all levels of government. There are few journalists who bring more experience to this issue than Klas.
A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Klas anchors some of the most thorough coverage of Florida government and politics at a time when many newspapers have cut back on their Tallahassee operations. In addition to traditional newspaper coverage, Klas is active in the Herald’s political blog, the influential “Naked Politics,” and in social media. Before becoming bureau chief for the Herald in 2004, she was Tallahassee bureau chief for Florida Trend magazine and also served as a senior writer for the Palm Beach Post. She was bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post from 1990-94.
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