The FBI raid on Donald Trump’s Florida home this week has drawn global media attention that it could be one of the first steps in a lawsuit against the former US president.
However, the search of the mansion known as Mar-a-Lago did not attract the attention of the press due to government office or internal leaks. It was the altruistic act of the editor of an “extremely local” site called news channels dedicated to monitoring community events.
Aware of his own journalistic limitations, Peter Schorsch renounced what was considered historical news by posting the information he accidentally discovered on Twitter.
Editor who discovered FBI at Trump’s home is already ‘belly’
Schorsch is the founder and director of the Florida Politics website, which focuses on local news about US state politics.
Page has been on the air since 2013 and has a team of 17 journalists responsible for publishing the quarterly magazine.
Like most sites, Florida Politics depends on advertising and sponsorship revenues for its survival.
But it worked and the page defined itself as “the one” and became a reference for local politics followers.A statewide new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, politics and lobbying in Florida.”
On Monday afternoon (8), Schorsch received information that he knew was important and true from the start. “Giant hole,” wrote a source the journalist knows.
The former political adviser said in an interview with The Washington Post that he called the person, already imagining that it might have something to do with Donald Trump because of the enthusiasm the message conveyed.
After 20 minutes of formalities and a casual conversation, the source returned to the topic of the message: “Oh, by the way, did you know that Mar-a-Lago is currently occupied?”
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Schorsch quickly ended the call and went to confirm with two other sources.
He had already given a “belly” when he reported in 2013 that Representative Bill Young actually died while still alive. “I’ve always been a little scared of getting to the top of the trampoline,” he has since told The Post.
However, the information about the FBI’s search of Trump’s home turned out to be correct. Within five minutes, the editor had gathered the necessary information to publish the news on his website, but chose to post it on Twitter.
“I don’t think I’m a journalist. I was very adamant about this,” Schorsch told the Post. “You may have a sword, but that doesn’t make you a samurai.”
Since it’s night in Florida, Schorsch explained that he didn’t want to overwhelm his team.
“Each of them had worked on four stories that day,” he told the newspaper, adding that from an audience perspective, Florida Politics also did well that day.
So he decided to share his discovery with three other reporters he knew and trusted to see if they could learn more about the warrant.
Meanwhile, in order for the news to reach as many people as possible, he wrote on the social network:
“Furo – The FBI issued a search warrant today in Mar-a-Lago, two sources confirmed to Florida Politics. ‘They just left,’ said one.
I’m not sure what the warrant is about. To be honest, I’m not a strong enough reporter to go after him, but it’s true.”
Scoop — Federal Bureau of Investigation @FBI issued a search warrant in Mar-a-Lago today, two sources confirm @Fla_Pol.
“They just left,” a source said.
I’m not sure what the warrant is about.
TBH, I’m not a strong enough reporter to catch this, but it’s real. pic.twitter.com/hMsGhlVp3d
— Peter Schorsch (@PeterSchorschFL) 8 August 2022
Colleagues credited Florida editor
The way Peter Schorsch covered the operation at Trump’s home was noted not only for the story itself, but also for the subtlety it did: without capsizing with the siren emoji or “BREAKING,” a widely used by great tools when sharing. thing. Posts on social networks.
“I don’t like to write in all caps,” he told The Post.
The tweet was posted at 6:36 p.m. and was reposted to over 1 million people a minute later by Rick Wilson, former Tallahassee Republican political adviser and anti-Trump activist.
The post quickly went viral and the American press raged to learn more about the warrant. The process is confidential as he is a former president. But it is believed to be related to classified documents that Trump removed from the White House at the end of his term.
Just 15 minutes after Schorsch’s tweet, Donald Trump confirmed the operation on his social network while criticizing the FBI’s “attack” on his residence.
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Famous reporters such as Maggie Haberman of the New York Times and Kaitlan Collins of CNN attributed the exclusivity of the information to the editor of Florida Politics.
“Thanks to Peter Schorsch for the big news tonight,” said CNN national security correspondent Zachary Cohen. “Local news is important.”
credit @PeterSchorschFL Who got this big scoop tonight?
Local news is important. https://t.co/WmXb4JK7je
— Zachary Cohen (@ZcohenCNN) 9 August 2022
“This was a very important situation not to ask for help. [de outros repórteres]Schorsch told BuzzFeed News.
“There are smaller personal achievements that you feel good about. This was the biggest hole I could get 100%,” he added.
He told The Post that it’s not “fake humility” to share information with colleagues because spreading the news is “more important than getting clicks.”
“The story is much bigger than the person telling it.”
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source: Noticias
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