Hurricane Milton is now long gone from Florida, but the unwelcome guest left the state a mess that will take days, weeks and months to clean up. For many, lives have been changed permanently. At least nine people were killed.

Powerful effects of the storm were felt up and down the west coast of Florida and even across the state to the east coast. It entered the state as a Category 3 hurricane and was still a Category 1 as it exited the peninsula. Taking the brunt of the storm was the Gulf Coast from the Tampa Bay area through Sarasota and down to Fort Myers. The storm officially made landfall in Siesta Key.

St. Petersburg was hit with some of the heaviest rains (more than 16 inches in some spots) and winds (gusting to 101 mph).

And that brings me, first, to an update on the Poynter Institute.

My colleague, Angela Fu, reports that the institute’s headquarters in downtown St. Pete largely escaped Hurricane Milton’s destructive winds and rain. Poynter’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer Jessi Navarro said Thursday, “There’s no cellphone service in the building. And there’s no power. But otherwise, the building is totally fine — no windows blown out, no water damage, no water entry. … (I’m) incredibly grateful that the storm is past us and didn’t do worse.”

But the building where the Poynter-owned Tampa Bay Times is was not so lucky …

Crane slams into Tampa Bay Times

One of the most dramatic scenes from Hurricane Milton plowing across the state of Florida came Wednesday night when the fabric roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team, was torn to shreds by winds that approached 100 mph.

As of Thursday morning, it was believed The Trop, as it is called, didn’t suffer any major structural damage, but the domed stadium had suddenly become, for the moment, an open-air facility.

Meanwhile, down the street about nine blocks or so, another dramatic scene was playing out. The Poynter-owned Tampa Bay Times had a scary call when a crane slammed into the side of the building that houses its newsroom, as well as other businesses. The crane was in place to build a 46-story highrise that will house mostly condos and will be located across the street from the Times.

Local authorities reported no injuries.

Times executive editor Mark Katches said Thursday morning that no Times employees were in the building at the time.

“We never are during storms,” Katches said in an email.

Katches said that the Times used to set up a command center at the paper’s printing plant a few miles away from newsroom offices during hurricane coverage, but that building was sold and the Times moved out in March 2021.

“So now we all work remotely in as safe a situation as we can find,” Katches said. “Much of our staff left the area, unless they were in nonevacuation zones.”

A core editing team, including Katches, was in Wesley Chapel, Florida — about 40 miles from St. Petersburg, but still within the Times’ coverage area.

Katches said, “And of course we have 5 mobilized ‘go teams’ in the field (reporters and photographers in rented SUVs who are trained for these kinds of conditions) At one point we had about a third of our newsroom without power or internet (Wednesday) night and (Thursday) morning, but we’re managing to do some really important public service journalism.”

It is still too early to assess the damage to the building and determine when Times can go back to work there. The building also is home to several other businesses.

The Times’ Zachary T. Sampson and Chris Urso wrote that the building had a “gaping hole.”

They reported that the eight-story, 250,000-square-foot space at 490 First Avenue South in downtown St. Petersburg actually is made up of three buildings — built in 1924, 1968 and 1988. All three are joined together. Times Publishing Co., the parent of the Tampa Bay Times, sold the building in 2016 to a joint venture of Convergent Capital Partners and Denholtz Associates, but remained a tenant.

Sampson and Urso wrote, “The city said in a news release that no injuries have been reported at the site. The building damaged by the crane had closed ahead of Milton’s arrival Wednesday. No one from the Times’ newsroom was working inside when the crane collapsed.”

They added, “Mayor Ken Welch on Tuesday urged residents who live in buildings next to three construction sites in downtown St. Petersburg … to relocate or take other precautions because of safety concerns with the neighboring high-rise cranes.”

Local coverage

I mentioned this in Thursday’s newsletter, and the same holds true for today. Nothing beats local news coverage when it comes to getting the very latest information that local residents need to know in the aftermath of a storm. Things like power and water outages, road closures, availability of gas, airport openings, emergency services and, unfortunately for many, what to do if your house is uninhabitable.

Local TV stations in the Tampa Bay area and the Tampa Bay Times have been my go-to sources while in our Dothan, Alabama, hotel. The coverage has been excellent, with the focus on the minute-to-minute information that residents need to begin rebuilding their lives.

More hurricane coverage of note …

• The Tampa Bay Times’ Max Chesnes with “See drone photos of Tropicana Field’s roof destroyed by Hurricane Milton.”
• The Washington Post’s Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Jason Samenow, Lori Rozsa and Ben Brasch with “Tampa Bay feared Milton would be the storm of a century. How bad was it?”
• The Washington Post’s Jennifer Hassan with “Journalists covering Milton were sheltering in their car. Then came a meow.”
• Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher with “‘WE GOTTA GO!’ NBC Crew Flees As Milton Suddenly Unleashes Hell On Earth Live On Air.”
• Video: CNN tours flooded neighborhood on an airboat rescuing survivors.

Town hall invites

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris responds to a question from Ivett Castillo, of Las Vegas, during a Town Hall event hosted by Univision, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Donald Trump has, on several occasions, turned down offers to debate Kamala Harris for a second time. Trump also turned down an interview with “60 Minutes” on the same night that Harris sat down with the iconic news show. So now CNN is trying something different. It has invited Harris and Trump to participate in separate town hall events on the same night.

CNN’s Brian Stelter reports the town halls would take place on Oct. 23 before an audience of supposedly persuadable and undecided voters in Pennsylvania.

In a statement, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said, “Trump may want to hide from the voters, but Vice President Harris welcomes the opportunity to share her vision for a New Way Forward for the country. She is happy to accept CNN’s invitation for a live, televised town hall on October 23 in Pennsylvania.”

As of Thursday evening, no word on whether Trump would accept the invite.

Harris participated in a town hall event hosted by Univision on Thursday at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Now for more media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review …

• The Atlantic is endorsing Kamala Harris for president. It’s more of an anti-Trump endorsement. However, The Atlantic does write, “Having devoted her life to public service, Harris respects the law and the Constitution. She believes in the freedom, equality, and dignity of all Americans. She’s untainted by corruption, let alone a felony record or a history of sexual assault. She doesn’t embarrass her compatriots with her language and behavior, or pit them against one another. She doesn’t curry favor with dictators. She won’t abuse the power of the highest office in order to keep it. She believes in democracy. These, and not any specific policy positions, are the reasons The Atlantic is endorsing her.”
• The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Michael M. Grynbaum with “Inside the Turmoil at CBS News After a Tense Ta-Nehisi Coates Interview.”
• The Washington Post’s Patrick Svitek and Amy B Wang report, “Former president Donald Trump said Thursday that CBS News should lose a broadcasting license over how it edited a ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, even though the federal government does not issue licenses for such television networks.” They added, “It was the latest example of Trump calling for media outlets that have angered him to lose their rights to broadcast — a push that evokes government control of media, which is a hallmark of authoritarianism.”
• On that topic, Variety’s Ethan Shanfeld with “Kamala Harris Campaign Distances Itself From ‘60 Minutes’ Edit Controversy: ‘We Do Not Control CBS’ Production Decisions.’”
• And here’s The Associated Press’ David Bauder with “Trump’s complaints about ’60 Minutes’ put a spotlight on editing at the nation’s top newsmagazine.”
• Excellent piece from The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss: “Skip Bayless is off TV but not done arguing about sports.”
• The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin with “ESPN Hires Former NFL MVP Cam Newton as a ‘First Take’ Regular.”
• Axios’ Sara Fischer with “The Athletic, Yahoo Sports partner on new women’s sports content hub.”

More resources for journalists

• It’s time to apply for the Leadership Academy for Women in Media
• Dynamic, in-person, five-day workshop for new newsroom managers.
• Understand U.S. Immigration From the Border to the Heartland — Start any time.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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