Florida Freedom Unpacked: Local Control, Bans, and Political Messaging with Mark Woods

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Mikes on Mic, a conversation about politics, government, and Jacksonville with 50-year opinion leaders Mike Hightower, Mike Tolbert,

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_00]: and award-winning broadcaster and longtime political observer Mike Miller.

[00:00:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to another episode of Mikes on Mic as we slog through the scorching days of August.

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Mike Miller. You're in studio with Mike Hightower. Mike Tolbert is back at his farm.

[00:00:28] [SPEAKER_01]: And we've got a very special guest today. As a matter of fact, Times Union great columnist Mark Woods is with us today.

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_01]: This is your third time with us now.

[00:00:36] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like Saturday night live.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_01]: When do I win?

[00:00:38] [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to get a sport coat if you come on for 12 more times.

[00:00:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Mark recently wrote what we thought was an incredibly insightful and a witty column about these new signs that you're going to be seeing as you enter the state of Florida

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_01]: and you leave the state of Florida welcoming visitors.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And today we want to focus on that column that Mark wrote and find out just what caused him to write it and more conversation about his observations.

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_01]: So, Mark, welcome once again to the program.

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for having me.

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Mark, we're going to talk about the welcome signs that say welcome to the free state of Florida or hurry back to the free state of Florida depending on which direction.

[00:01:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm curious about something before we get to that.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_02]: You write what two columns at least a week, more than 100 a year, which is my guess.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_02]: How do you come up with the ideas? Where does the idea come from to write a column?

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And why did you choose this subject to write this column?

[00:01:34] [SPEAKER_03]: It's funny you ask because yeah, they come from all over the place.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes they're from readers.

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes there's something I see in the paper.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes you just find them.

[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_03]: You get emails.

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_03]: You get interesting ideas and always have one due with our deadlines.

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Now, basically Tuesday morning used to be end of the day Tuesday.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_03]: So I wake up on Monday.

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_03]: What am I doing?

[00:01:57] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't have there's not a lot of time I got.

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_03]: And every so often there's one that's I wouldn't say I'm never bailing on it, but it's a little bit more of a throw away like it's not going to be a ton of reporting.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_03]: And it's just OK.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_03]: I've got this idea.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_03]: This was one of those that was more.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_03]: I think I could have a little bit of fun with this.

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_03]: And yeah, I got so I'm still getting emails a week, week and a half later phone calls.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_03]: But it was more a throw away column that like, oh, I saw this the other day.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Let me this won't involve trying to arrange five or six interviews.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_03]: This is just me taking a thread and pulling on it and playing with it.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_03]: So it was it was amusing that it took off in the way that did.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Then the next one, I think I probably put in a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of interviews and got like a handful of emails.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, it's funny what what sets people off.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Were they emails you got where they were supportive or would they anger at you?

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I brought a couple of them.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_04]: But I do have a question because one of the things that when we read your columns, one thing's over the years is that you are just an incredible discipline, canoeist and kayak.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Do you get those ideas as you're going up and down the river?

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_04]: I got to believe that it must be just incredible relaxing and give your brain just a chance to think outside the box, so to speak.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_03]: No, I think that's definitely true. Yeah, I think I try and either run or bike or paddleboard most mornings.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_03]: And yeah, I've seen scientific studies that say people going for walks.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_03]: That's when it helps your brain.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_03]: There are some like some of these Monday mornings when I don't know what I'm going to do and I think should I take the time to go for that run or whatever?

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_03]: And usually when I do, it helps me think out.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_03]: No, I like this idea or I don't like this idea so that there is something.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_03]: So that's my yeah, my excuse.

[00:03:47] [SPEAKER_03]: It's work when I'm going out and paddling and I'm or whatever running it's but I think it does help you.

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Although sometimes I'll listen to run a podcast and I think maybe I should just disconnect because that's I think when your mind starts thinking things out.

[00:04:03] [SPEAKER_04]: I do that on the treadmill.

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_04]: I do it for 65 minutes and it's the only time I'm really profound as opposed to being profane.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, on the treadmill I'm terribly profound.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I just don't remember anything after I get off the treadmill.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I usually carry my phone.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Sometimes I'll think that's a good idea and I'll literally stop and like text or email myself.

[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_03]: So when I get back, I will remember it because otherwise I realize what was my brilliant idea at mile two?

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Read us some of the emails.

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_03]: So yes, so it's about the signs obviously we have on the state border.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_03]: So when you're entering, it says welcome to the free state of Florida.

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_03]: And then when you're leaving, it says hurry back to the free state.

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_03]: So let's see.

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03]: This is one of the emails.

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Those interstate highways you mentioned go both ways.

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_03]: So you're free to put your ass on one headed north or west and get out of Florida if you don't like American values.

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_03]: That's an American value.

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Don't just talk it, walk it, pouty mouth crybaby.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_03]: So that was one.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_03]: This one came this morning because I was going to dig up some of these and I was like that column was a couple of weeks ago.

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_03]: But I still get if you don't like DeSantis policies, you can always leave for other 49 states.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sure you're going to love crimes in Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, New York, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_03]: I know you are a freeloader as you are a third class journalist and you doubt at the capacity of DeSantis who is a Harvard Yale graduate.

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Pathetic of you.

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_03]: You're an embarrassment.

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Just resign and leave the state.

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Wait a minute, did that come from Mike Brown?

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Hightower wrote that.

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_03]: It's typical when you write it says anything that's somewhat related to whatever DeSantis or something that I didn't pronounce the ones that were very nice.

[00:05:58] [SPEAKER_03]: So half go away to go and half were like this.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's expected.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_03]: But it is interesting that something like this just triggers so much response and then I'll write something else.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I think I made some good points here.

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Nobody for emails.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And yeah, normally before changing well established brands and slogans, corporation government agencies spend money on research, focus groups, other forms of testing before deciding to change.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Back to my Blue Cross Blue Shield days.

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_04]: How much thought and research went into this change?

[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Or was it just something FDOT was told to by the governor?

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_04]: What's your gut on this?

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah, I don't think FDOT probably made that call.

[00:06:39] [SPEAKER_03]: But they did still say welcome to Florida, the Sunshine State and welcome to the Free State of Florida, the Sunshine State.

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_03]: So they left that in there.

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_03]: But it's like an addendum to the Free State of Florida.

[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, you're right.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_03]: You think of I looked up.

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_03]: So I looked up how many states does Interstate 95 pass through just picturing people driving and it passes through 15 states.

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_03]: So there's a and I looked up all what all the greeting signs are.

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And some you can picture it because they've had forever.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Virginia is for lovers.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_03]: That's an interesting welcome to New York.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_03]: A lot of them were more basic.

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to New York, the Empire State.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Some welcome to Georgia.

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_03]: We're glad Georgia is on your mind.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_03]: And they're all that.

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_03]: They're they're just welcome to South Carolina.

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Smiling faces, beautiful places.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_03]: They're not really the place where they put a political ad.

[00:07:24] [SPEAKER_03]: And that kind of is what ours felt like is why I poke fun at it.

[00:07:28] [SPEAKER_03]: But the FDOT said it was done to quote highlights Florida's highlight Florida status as a top tourist destination.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_04]: I did.

[00:07:37] [SPEAKER_04]: I was one of those things that I'm driving up past the sign and from there probably up to Valdosta.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm thinking, where did this come from?

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_03]: And why the word free?

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, it was clearly a part of it was part of his campaign.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_03]: When DeSantis ran for president, it was where the free state were.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_03]: That was yeah, I was taking kind of the presidential campaign slogan and putting it on this sign.

[00:08:00] [SPEAKER_03]: I wonder how that's working for him.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, how did that work?

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER_02]: It didn't work so good when he ran.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes, that means when we have a new governor, they have the option to change.

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, yeah.

[00:08:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Let me tell you though, the Sunshine State is by the way, that's legislature.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_04]: That's in the legislature.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, is that right?

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, yeah.

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's like you said, that's pretty iconic branding for a state.

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_03]: You're trying to think is there another I don't know if there's another state that's branded itself.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Even if you look at this, I've seen the statistics.

[00:08:28] [SPEAKER_03]: We do not have the most sunshine of any state.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I think there's like some of those Arizona or something or Nevada or something.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_03]: We actually have more cloud cover, but we are we have successfully branded ourselves as the Sunshine State.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_04]: I think if you go back, one of the things that I did research on was Flagler when he built the railroad to Key West.

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_04]: I could remember there is part of his part advertisement of his train going across the bridges.

[00:08:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Welcome to the Sunshine State.

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_04]: So it's been around forever.

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_03]: You're right that I looked it up when the legislature made it.

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_03]: We amped it up another notch and I forget when that was, if it was 70s or something.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_03]: But it's 50 years or something that it's been ingrained in America's mind.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_03]: We are the Sunshine State.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_03]: So to mix that with the free state.

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_03]: Some people loved it, but others.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_03]: So I get the very mix of reaction.

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I have a neighbor who lives part time in Knoxville, Tennessee.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_01]: And I saw her just as I was leaving to come to the studio today and she where you going to do your podcast?

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_01]: I said, yeah, she said, what's going on today?

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_01]: And I said, Mark Woods is going to be talking about the free state of Florida.

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_01]: She said, oh, I can't wait to hear it.

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_01]: She said, please ask him what's free because so far I've been spending a mint ever since I came up.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_01]: I said, all right, I'll ask him, Tammy.

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_01]: I haven't found anything free yet.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Have you? Maybe the air, but that's about it.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_01]: As a prolific reader and an author in the columnist, you wrote, welcome to the free state of Florida where you're free to say what books someone else's kid should not be able to read.

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, for twenty twenty three, we led the nation in book challenges in public schools and libraries.

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_01]: How serious is this assault?

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Somebody put it an author put it really well said, I think it's one thing to say I don't want my child to read this book or that book.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_03]: It's another to say your child and your child cannot read that book.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_03]: And that that doesn't feel like freedom to me.

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_01]: The thing that I don't understand how you're going to be able to implement this thing.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, if I can divert just for a moment, Florida State University System is sending requests to schools across the state to flag any course that might contain what it calls anti-Semitic or anti-Israel bias.

[00:10:47] [SPEAKER_01]: The chancellor said any course that contains the following words, any course with the following words, Israel, Israeli, Palestine, Palestinian, Middle East, Zionism, Zionist, Judaism, Jewish or Jews will be flagged for review.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't matter what context they're written in.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_01]: It could be a course on Middle East history.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_01]: I would say they flag it if it has any of those words or others.

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Those are not the only words.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that was interesting about this article I'm reading from Douglas So from USA Today Network says singling out certain key words and phrases for targeted review will certainly chill speech on these important issues.

[00:11:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And if institutions take action against professors for including certain materials that violates longstanding academic freedom guarantees, there is nothing in the directive that says what will happen to that professor.

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: If they let it get through without my...

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that quote came from FIRE, which is an organization.

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_03]: It's an interesting organization because it would be probably portrayed as conservative, but it picks battles that somehow sometimes are against some of our conservative leaders.

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_03]: So we've seen that happen recently in the last few years with some of the battles over books and schools and things like this.

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Their mission is we were fighting for free speech.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_03]: So it comes back to the free state of Florida.

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, Mark, I'm going to get back to your column.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm one of those people who's very concerned about the attack that the legislature and the governor have been exercising on local governments, diminishing local control to make decisions in their voters' citizens' best interests.

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And you wrote, Welcome to the Free State of Florida, where again and again state leaders have made sure local governments have less freedom and more mandates.

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_02]: There used to be a local control has always been in the forefront.

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Used to be years ago when it looked like there was an assault on local control in Jacksonville and across the state, the mayors and council members, county commissioners would get all pissed off about it.

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_02]: They'd stand up and they'd fight back and maintain local control.

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But it seems like now, especially in Jacksonville, instead of getting pissed off and fighting back about it, we've got council members and not this mayor but council members who are asleep at the wheel or nodding in agreement with taking away local control.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Where is this all going to be? Where is this headed?

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_02]: How do we stop this?

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_03]: That's a good point.

[00:13:32] [SPEAKER_03]: And you hear people that talk about small government and get big government out of my way and all that.

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_03]: And yet this seems a prime example of that, that we're letting Tallahassee dictate the one that from a few years ago they often think of was cruise ships down in Key West.

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_03]: They had this vote.

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_03]: They didn't want the giant cruise ships coming in there.

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_03]: And it was this was across the political spectrum.

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_03]: You had the charter captain say it's going to harm our livelihood.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a you had overwhelmingly felt like this is bad for our area.

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_03]: We want some smaller ships but not the big ones.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_03]: So they overwhelmingly voted to keep that small, keep that.

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And then Tallahassee at the last minute slipped in a bill and DeSantis approved it that allowed the giant ships to come in.

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_03]: That to me felt that that was an example of yeah, you're saying we don't care what the local citizens say.

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_03]: We're going to tell you what's right for you.

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_03]: And then there was an example, too, where it was one of those classics where whoever had the biggest dock down there Porter was a big donor and it just felt we're going to drain the swamp.

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_03]: But that felt pretty swampy.

[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_03]: What played out there?

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Mark in November, a minute three is going to be on the ballot to legalize recreational marijuana, which is what Mr.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Miller will get on his soapbox here in your column.

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_04]: You wrote adults.

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_04]: All right.

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_04]: In your column, Mark, you wrote, Welcome to the free state of Florida, where hemp executives scrambled to raise five million dollars in political donations after the governor vetoed a bill that would have tightened regulation on their industry and in group chant reportedly included a post that pretty much sums up politics in Florida.

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_04]: We know nothing in life is free.

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_04]: Neither was his veto.

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_04]: What was that all about?

[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that I wish I could think it was an Orlando Sentinel story that broke it and maybe Fort Lauderdale also.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, they had a very detailed explaining.

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_03]: I summed that up in a paragraph basically because I wanted to get in that quote.

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Nothing in life is free and neither was his veto.

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm writing about freedom.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. So they somehow somebody got this chat between all these executives and advocates.

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_03]: That quote was in there.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_03]: But it illustrate.

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that we got to rally a bunch of pretty five million dollars because that's the price tag for this veto.

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_03]: That's what they were basically saying.

[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And so, yeah, I felt like that was just ironic freedom in the free state of Florida on a serious note, though.

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_04]: And you've written about it.

[00:16:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Nate has written about it.

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_04]: We've talked about it.

[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_04]: We're laughing about this.

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_04]: But then the reality is why people have become so cynical about one, government, their government.

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_04]: And number two, one of the things that Mike Tolbert has talked on the show about why it's becoming hard as hell to find people who want to go into public office because they don't want to be associated.

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_04]: They don't want to do that.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER_04]: And so they whether it's intended or the unintended consequences is having this negative implication all the way down the road because stuff like this.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_04]: I just it's pay to play.

[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's call it what it is.

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_04]: It's pay to play.

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_04]: And when you do that, people are going to go anybody that's got any sense of decency or moral compasses.

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_04]: I got better things to do than get involved with this.

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Where is this going to go?

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Mark, from your perspective.

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there's obviously a long history of this.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, we have so much dark money in the state.

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_03]: We have and it doesn't go anywhere.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, anywhere good.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:17:07] [SPEAKER_03]: And I don't know how you change it other than shining sunshine on it in the free state of Florida.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, it's troubling what money is again and again.

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I guess that's age old.

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_03]: But it feels even more so now.

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_03]: And like I said, this idea of some of the people say they're going to drain the swamp have been as swampy as anybody.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Mark, you just said something that interested me.

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_02]: You said we need to train the sunshine on it.

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_02]: But if you look across the state, I read recently, I think that the Tampa Bay Times is giving buyouts to people in their news department.

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Staffs are diminishing all over the place.

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_02]: How are we going to restore?

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_02]: How are we going to turn the sunshine on these people if we don't have the resources and the tools to do it?

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_02]: We don't have people like you as many as we need.

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's a good question.

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_03]: There still is always was a great newspaper state.

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_03]: But I think all of the every single newspaper in the state is dramatically diminished, including the Tampa Bay Times prints two days a week.

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, it's just print two days a week now.

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, switch that during COVID.

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, but then other things have popped up that there are different people doing really good things that aren't in traditional news formats.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So it is an interesting time, scary time, I think, but interesting to see how things evolve.

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_01]: And the traditional media and this goes for every medium, no matter what, not just newspapers, but television, radio, old profession.

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_01]: I have no idea what's happened to radio these days.

[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_01]: It's just a mere shadow of its former self.

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_01]: This is the same used to go, but we're finding it in newspapers.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_01]: And when you take a look at all of the polling that's been done and where are you getting your news?

[00:18:59] [SPEAKER_01]: It's scary because the Internet is coming up as number one.

[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_01]: And unfortunately, it's not digital copies of your newspaper or others.

[00:19:09] [SPEAKER_01]: But we're talking about going to the other platforms that are not part of traditional media.

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm wondering how that's going to impact how news is going to be covered in the future.

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to get a phone call from an influencer, let's say, that's doing a podcast.

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Our present company excluded.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_01]: And not take the call because you don't know who this jerk is.

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_01]: We don't know when his or her show is on.

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_01]: We don't know what it's going to sound like.

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You don't get the resources so you don't get the answers.

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no, it is a new era.

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_03]: My wife does works in the tennis world running tennis tournaments and does a lot of credentialing.

[00:19:44] [SPEAKER_03]: And they have to decide once upon a time it was easy to credential because here's the newspapers, TV stations, radio.

[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_03]: But now she has to figure out this person is not from that world, but are they legitimate?

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_03]: And yes, they often are worthy of credentialing.

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_04]: But go back to what you were saying earlier about how it's changed for you.

[00:20:03] [SPEAKER_04]: You've got to write something by a certain deadline because you can't write to the very last minute because you've got to get it out.

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Because it's got to go someplace else to get printed before it comes back here.

[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, us, the Times Union and every other newspaper also tries to OK, we have almost these two different entities.

[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_03]: You still have the old fashioned print product, but you try to have your website.

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's where you can have hopefully the up to the minute kind of news.

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_03]: But it's an interesting juggling act to try and make both work.

[00:20:36] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm grateful that I'm not the one trying to do that, although it does affect me with deadlines.

[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_01]: In the time we have left, tell us about the Free State of Florida observation.

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_01]: This one. Welcome to the Free State of Florida where the governor vetoed all cultural and museum grants

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_01]: for more than 600 programs around the state because of a few cities having fringe festivals.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_01]: What is a fringe festival?

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_03]: I did not know either, but that was when he made all those vetoes.

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER_03]: People said it happened without an explanation.

[00:21:05] [SPEAKER_03]: And then a few days later, the explanation was, yeah, that they had some of these cities had money had gone to these.

[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's the official title.

[00:21:14] [SPEAKER_03]: So I looked up the Global Association of Fringe Festivals.

[00:21:19] [SPEAKER_03]: You didn't know there was one, did you?

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_03]: I didn't know either.

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_03]: And so a quote I found the description was interesting.

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_03]: Fringe is a grassroots festival with the freedom to celebrate and exchange.

[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So it had the word freedom in it.

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_03]: And it apparently started like something like 70 years ago in Scotland.

[00:21:36] [SPEAKER_03]: So I said that that might fly in Scotland where the festivals originated about 80 years ago, but this is Florida.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_03]: So we're not good with fringe.

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And I assume that with Jacksonville getting ready now to celebrate Pride Month, I believe,

[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_01]: they doing the Pride Parade, I believe is coming up.

[00:21:54] [SPEAKER_01]: I think I saw something in the year about that.

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm assuming that, of course, no state funds would be allowed to be used for any of that purpose.

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think that passed. That happened.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I feel like it was a couple months ago.

[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I think it did.

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_03]: But yeah, you're right.

[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_03]: They're using state funds for the I put into the bridge lights that we had the.

[00:22:13] [SPEAKER_03]: Freedom summer when you were free to write light, local governments, local cities can light the bridges,

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_03]: however they saw fit as long as it was red, white and blue.

[00:22:21] [SPEAKER_03]: Because basically you were told you couldn't it couldn't be during you can say during those months we're going to have it in Jaguars colors

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_03]: or even something that would not seem controversial during those months.

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_03]: You had to have it in red, white and blue.

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_03]: I brought up the I think the first one I started with was the you're entering the state, even though this is the birthplace of Skinner.

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_03]: And don't turn it up because we have we now have a resort.

[00:22:44] [SPEAKER_03]: We have a state law against playing music to live with part of me doesn't mind because I don't like if it's the free state,

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_03]: like you're literally you can be I think ticketed is what it is for playing your music to out in the free state of Florida.

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, this is an observation more than a question mark.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But I would love your reaction.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_02]: This new slogan, the free welcome to the free state of Florida.

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I think it's an ironic and also a sarcastic description of the political environment that we're living in right now, especially in our own state.

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't know how or when this era is going to pass, but I hope that it does.

[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I hope that it does.

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And I especially appreciate you being here today to talk about this with us.

[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_02]: We always appreciate what you do.

[00:23:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks. Yeah, very much.

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Yep. And we're still that's what I responded to people at even the negative ones.

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_03]: I said we're still free to disagree.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's that's one of the things that so far.

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, yeah, we can disagree.

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_04]: But a couple of those are a little bit disagreeable.

[00:23:48] [SPEAKER_04]: A couple of those I was thinking maybe Talbert wrote.

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I mean, I did say to people just because you say if you don't like it here, why don't you leave?

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'd say, hey, I do like it here.

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_03]: I've written hundreds, thousands probably of columns of things I do like about here.

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_03]: But if I complain about a few things that I'm supposed to leave, I said I would never tell you if you didn't like the president.

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm assuming some of the folks might say you could pick either if you didn't like Biden or you didn't like Trump.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_03]: I wouldn't tell you.

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_03]: You should leave that kind of reaction to if you don't like the leadership, leave.

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I wouldn't tell somebody that.

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Yes. And I have to pick up on that a little bit for those some of us all three of us.

[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_04]: But Talbert, it's been the sunshine state.

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Why in the world this out of nowhere?

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_04]: No explanation.

[00:24:47] [SPEAKER_04]: All of a sudden it appears.

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And this is the way it's going to be.

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_04]: If you don't like it, like they say, did leave.

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_04]: What caused what was the big uproar from 22 million Floridians who said I don't like sunshine state?

[00:25:02] [SPEAKER_04]: I want it to be the free state.

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't remember that referendum.

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_03]: It's like changing new coming up with a new Coke here.

[00:25:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. Sunshine State was I think was working pretty well.

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_04]: This is another example that all of a sudden out of clear blue.

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_04]: If there was a reason or if there had been something, but also this is the way it's going to be like it.

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Or they say if you don't like it, then leave.

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_04]: That's baloney.

[00:25:25] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not how you that's not how we try to raise our family, how we raise our kids, our grandkids.

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not how civilization should work.

[00:25:33] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not civility.

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And what in my way?

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_04]: And I think it just shows candidly.

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it shows arrogance and hubris candidly.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_04]: All right, guys, we got to wrap it up.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_01]: That's my observation.

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_01]: We appreciate it.

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_01]: Very insightful, by the way.

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Mark.

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Very much more.

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Always coming out when we ask you to.

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_01]: We appreciate it.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And thank you for tuning in.

[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Once again, we want to thank our friends at the Jacksonville History Center and Helen Bliss and our donors for keeping the cameras rolling and the lights on.

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_01]: And we'll see you here again next week.

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for joining us, folks.

[00:26:03] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see you then.

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Mike's on Mike with Mike Tolbert, Mike Hightower and Mike Miller can be found on your favorite podcasting platform, Facebook and YouTube.

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Visit the website at Mike's on Mike dot com.

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Join us next time for more conversation with Mike's on Mike.