Category: News

ChatGPT did not write this column Barry Friedman Founder & Editor-at-Large There’s been a lot of chatter in journalism circles lately about how news organizations should and shouldn’t use ChatGPT, the online artificial intelligence “chatbot” that has gotten a lot of attention since being released to the public last November. If you’re not familiar with […]

Courage to have difficult conversations Trinity Laurino Executive Director Next Tuesday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. is our third community forum in a series we’re now calling “Let’s Talk Lkld.” This time we’re exploring the issue of race and equity locally.  Judging by the fact that we’re already at about 90% capacity for the venue […]

What is watered grows Cindy Glover Editor The return of rain after one of the driest January-February-March periods in Polk County history has transformed the sad patch of dirt in front of my house. It shouldn’t be a revelation since – like most of my neighbors – I don’t have a sprinkler system. When we […]

Happenings near and far Cindy Glover Editor There’s a word for the kind of journalism we do at LkldNow: hyperlocal.  Generally speaking, it’s the opposite of “big media” with centralized operations. We are small media with a grassroots operation. Our focus is entirely on Lakeland. One of my most important tasks as editor is deciding […]

Check out our other free newsletters Barry Friedman Founder & Editor-at-Large Since you are reading this newsletter, you might be interested in two other newsletters that LkldNow offers. Like this one, all of our email newsletters are free. We consider this newsletter — LkldNow This Week — to be our premier newsletter. It reviews the […]

Balancing old and new Cindy Glover Editor One of the first things I learned working with our founder Barry Friedman was to add at least 5 minutes to our ETA if we’re walking anywhere in Lakeland – and double that if it’s near one of the coffee houses he frequents. Barry is well-known and beloved […]

As we grow, a promise and a request Cindy Glover Editor Dear readers: I’m honored to be taking the helm of LkldNow’s daily news operations and profoundly grateful that Barry Friedman will still be actively involved supporting our mission and our growth. There was an inspiring post on Nextdoor a couple of weeks ago. Two […]

Introducing LkldNow’s New Editor Barry Friedman Editor & Publisher Dear readers: Ever since founding LkldNow in 2015, a personal goal of mine has been to develop the next generation of leadership so that LkldNow can continue growing and providing independent news about quality-of-life issues in Lakeland long after my eventual retirement. I am pleased to […]

Our Special Number: 7 Trinity Laurino Executive Director If you follow LkldNow on Facebook, you might have seen that LkldNow founder and publisher Barry Friedman just turned 70! This means Barry has been covering Lakeland as a journalist for over four decades, first at The Ledger where he was city editor, news editor and features […]