Why Oviedo Community News covered this story and how the reporting was done

Questions about possible Sunshine Law violations have come up in multiple Oviedo City Council meetings over the past year. When covering local government meetings, OCN reporters always ask the question ‘How does this impact my readers?’ when deciding which issue to focus their article on. Find OCN’s Ethic’s Policy here.

The Sunshine Law is extremely important to all of us as citizens. It protects our right to know how the people we elect to make important decisions on our behalf are making those decisions. When several people came forward in a public meeting, questioning whether the Sunshine Law had been violated, OCN Reporter Eric Orvieto, who covers the Oviedo City Council regularly, not only covered what happened during the meeting but requested about a dozen emails through public record requests, spoke with or attempted to speak with all parties involved and reached out to an impartial expert on Sunshine Law. The Sunshine Law expert source was found through an internet search and properly vetted by OCN, and has been interviewed as a Sunshine Law expert by the Sun-Sentinel, WGCU PBS/NPR and WKMG/ClickOrlando. This was especially important because laws can be interpreted a number of ways, and just reading the statute isn’t always enough. This article provides an explanation for why there is currently a back and forth where some are questioning the legality of the events in question while others are saying it’s on the up and up.

Extra care and delicacy was taken with this article because it involves multiple accusations and the story is unfolding during an election year in the city. The issue was thoroughly discussed in multiple meetings with Eric and OCN editors.