This is a little long, so bear with me – or don’t, depending on your taste. It’s more timely now with the news of The Ledger’s job cuts and religion editor Cary McMullen’s column last Saturday lamenting the demise of religion reporting and the specific layoff of well-known and respected Orlando Sentinel religion reporter Mark Pinsky. [...]
Bio: Billy Townsend was a longtime government, political and general assignment reporter in Polk County and the wider I-4 corridor. He wrote extensively about Polk's unique regional identity and the issues shaping it, including USF Polytechnic, the Heartland Parkway and the CSX rail deal. Billy recently left professional reporting to take a corporate writing job, but he keeps close tabs on news of all stripes (especially political news) and the changes in modern journalism. Billy's wife is Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership.They live with their three children in the Lake Morton area. His work at Lakeland Local is his first as an amateur hyperlocal writer.