Journalist
Kevin P. Connolly
Kevin Connolly is a media leader with more than 25 years in professional communications.
The veteran journalist is currently enjoying a career in television journalism. He works at Spectrum News 13 as an assignment editor. In this exciting role, Kevin makes sure the station is on top of all the big breaking stories and the most important enterprise pieces in Central Florida.
He works the phones, reaches out to sources, digs through emails, ferrets through public records and scans the competitors.
He writes web scripts under intense deadline pressure. He plays an important role in the production process by ensuring reporters and photographers are lined up with the correct equipment and contact information they need for regular live shots and breaking news.
He's always helping out where it's needed most, sharing key information with reporters, photographers and producers. Kevin's a team player. And he's in it to win.
The Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists named our team the Best Overall Station Of The Year for 2019.
We also won first place for Breaking News in 2019 for “Bus Overturns On I-4."
I'm proud to be part of the award-winning team that produces top-notch news every day for Central Florida.
Kevin previously worked at Drugwatch, where he served as managing editor for more than two years until October 2018.
He was in charge of a dynamic team of seasoned communication professionals and regularly consulted with external medical and legal professionals to ensure Drugwatch met high standards for accuracy, quality and customer expectations.
Public Trust
Maintaining the public trust is one of Kevin's most important priorities.
Kevin challenged politicians, bureaucrats, criminals and corrupt businesses at the Orlando Sentinel, where he worked for 19 years as a reporter and editor.
As a beat reporter in Central Florida, he uncovered secret land deals, detailed ethics violations and revealed environmental health threats.
As a breaking news editor, Kevin managed some of Orlando Sentinel's biggest stories, including the Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman cases.
Passionate Advocate
A father of three with elderly parents, Kevin is a passionate advocate for patients and their families. He had to fight back more than once to ensure his family received the high-quality medical care they deserve.
On a personal level, Kevin has unraveled medication mixups, cut through hospital red tape and demanded clear language from medical professionals.
He knows that patients and their families face an uphill battle against entrenched government bureaucracies, flawed public policies, profit-driven corporations and inept politicians.
He's not afraid to take a stand on health issues, even when they may be unpopular.
He recently authored an editorial denouncing kid-friendly marketing tactics by e-cigarette manufacturers and calling for a ban on all vaping products in the United States.
Widely Published
At the Orlando Sentinel, he initiated projects about Legionnaires’ disease and flesh-eating bacteria. He also wrote about brain-eating amoeba deaths, mosquito-borne illnesses, sexually transmitted diseases and public-health agencies.
Kevin has been published in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Tampa Bay Times, the Stuart News, the Charlotte Sun and the Bradenton Herald.
Kevin has mentored journalists who advanced to the Washington Post, CNN, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Harvard Kennedy School and Florida Hospital.
As a freelance writer, Kevin explores a wide variety of interests, including science, climate change and the diversity and threats to Florida's native ecosystems. He has contributed to the Florida Wildflower Association and other publications.
You can catch up with his blog on Substack.
Lifelong Learner
As a college student, Kevin formed and led a campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication.
He served on the search committee for an advisor for The Oracle, USF's award-winning campus newspaper. He directed news coverage as editor-in-chief while completing his mass communications degree.
He later earned credits for a master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University. He also completed classes at Seminole State College of Florida in biology, microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology.
Teacher, Mentor
After college, he taught advanced journalism students about public-affairs reporting for two semesters at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Kevin received training at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school in St. Petersburg, Florida, and belongs to Investigative Reporters and Editors, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of in-depth reporting, and the Society for Professional Journalists.
He completed a leadership program through the Tribune Company, a Chicago-based media conglomerate that included the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, Sun-Sentinel and The Baltimore Sun.
Memberships, Skills
Kevin gives back to the community as often as he can. Invited by the DeBary city manager, Kevin was a moderator of a public forum in 2019 that gave residents an opportunity to learn about a proposed half-cent sales tax for public infrastructure projects. He guided the discussion between elected and appointed officials and audience with mixed opinions about the controversial proposal.
In 2018, he hosted forums for the public featuring local and county candidates.
His public service includes leadership and positions of trust with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.
He recently served on Volusia County's Children and Families Advisory Board.
His professional associations include the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
He belongs to the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing.
He earned Health Literacy certificates through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
His key skills include:
- Journalism investigations
- Breaking news
- Long-form narratives
- Collaborative Strategy
- Multimedia production
- Source development
- Advanced coaching
- Content expansion
- Website editing
- Social-media creation
- Versatile writing
- Innovative multi-tasking
You can reach him at 386-843-2901 or kevinpconnolly@gmail.com. (No story pitches, please). You can pitch stories to my work email: kevin.connolly@charter.com