Local journalism, built for Lakeland
LkldNow (pronounced Lakeland Now) is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to Lakeland, Florida. We believe strong communities need strong local journalism that helps people understand where they live, participate in civic life and work together to make their community better.
Founded in 2015 by local journalist, Barry Friedman, LkldNow is deeply rooted in Lakeland. We live here, care about this community and are invested in its future. Our reporting celebrates what makes Lakeland a great place to live while also examining the challenges facing our community and exploring what can be done about them.
We believe the purpose of our journalism is to empower Lakeland residents with access to the local news and information they need to be informed and engaged.
What we cover
We provide daily local news about Lakeland city government, Polk County schools, business, development, public safety, arts and culture, food and dining, local elections, and community events.
FAQs
Yes. Every story is available without a paywall.
Without the paper part. We are a digital newsroom publishing online and on social media Monday through Friday (and sometimes on the weekend). We like to think our journalism is rooted in the best traditions of local journalism, be that print or broadcast, but we are built for digital and social platforms.
LkldNow is published by Linking Community Now, Inc., a nonprofit organization. Linking Community Now’s documentation can be found on the organization’s profile on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, which includes our IRS form 990 filings.
We primarily cover Lakeland, Florida while also reporting on issues affecting greater Polk County when they directly impact Lakeland residents.
We publish original reporting Monday through Friday (and sometimes on the weekends) along with newsletters, videos, voter guides and community journalism projects.
LkldNow is supported by our community through direct donations by readers just like you, by the local businesses sponsors whose banners you’ll see on the site, and occassionally through grants from philanthropic organizations like the Knight Foundation and GiveWell Community Foundation.
We focus on explanatory and solutions journalism — providing the context and information people need to understand the issues affecting their lives, while exploring how communities and individuals are addressing challenges and what might work.
It depends on how well your story fits into our areas of coverage and on the news cycle happening at the moment. You can always send us a press release or tell us about it by emailing newstips@lkldnow.com
Journalism with a purpose
Our journalism goes beyond simply telling you what happened.
Our primary mission is to inform people so they can be engaged citizens and participants in civic life. That means attending local government meetings, talking with the people who shape our community, listening to residents, examining public records and data, and doing the reporting needed to help make sense of complicated issues.
We believe journalism can do more than identify problems. It can help a community understand them and have better conversations about what comes next.
Readers come first
As a community-supported nonprofit, LkldNow is accountable to our readers and our community — not advertisers or corporate owners.
That means you won’t find clickbait headlines designed simply to generate page views. We believe that local news is part of a community’s infrastructure, and everyone should have access to it.
Trust is our responsibility
Trust is something we have to earn every day.
We strive to be accurate, fair, independent and transparent in our reporting. We take responsibility for correcting our mistakes, treating the people we cover with respect and avoiding conflicts of interest. If you see anything from a small typo to a needed correction please let us know at mail@lkldnow.com.
We don’t publish an opinion page or letters to the editor. In an era when there are countless places for people to express their opinions, we believe there is a particular need for independent, factual reporting that gives people the information they need to form their own conclusions.
We listen to our readers, welcome questions and take seriously our responsibility to the community we serve.
Part of a bigger movement
LkldNow is part of a growing national movement to rebuild local journalism through independent, community-focused news organizations.
We are members of Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION) and the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), organizations that support independent and nonprofit newsrooms across the country.
But our focus remains decidedly local.
We’re here for Lakeland — and we’re here to help Lakeland understand itself.
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I love your format and appreciate your work.
I have a question regarding Minnie Park. I know that awhile back there was a lot of discussion regarding what was going to replace the statue
Any decision?
Thanks.
The city held a public workshop last year to share ideas for the park, but there are no firm plans yet.