We live in a time where anything that doesn’t align with our world view is “fake news.” If it’s not our reality, it’s not real. It would be comfortable to go through life like this, only accepting convenient news. But some people don’t have that luxury. These are often the people I write about. My job, my code of ethics, my personal morals demand that I seek the truth and report it. The truth is Jacksonville has a lot of challenges. We have children who find themselves in trouble with the justice system. We have a lack of economic mobility and significant racial disparities. We have undocumented but brilliant young DREAMers who are scared for their futures. We have schools that struggle and families that go without. Some people can ignore all of these things. But I can’t. There are too many important stories to be told, and to only to tell them from a limited point of view would be a disservice to this community.
About Tessa Duvall:
Tessa Duvall joined The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville as the education, children and families reporter in December 2014. Her reporting focuses on the issues that affect children living in Northeast Florida, including juvenile justice and mental health.
As a John Jay College fellow in 2016, Tessa began reporting extensively on juvenile life without parole and the years-long resentencing efforts underway. Her reporting on the transformation of a troubled school led to her speaking at TEDxJacksonville in 2015. The Florida Press Club awarded her first place in education reporting in 2016, and the Jacksonville-based Atlantic Institute selected her as its 2017 Diversity in Media award recipient. As a National Fellow at the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism, she will tackle her most ambitious piece of journalism yet: Why do juveniles in Jacksonville commit homicide at such a high rate?
Tessa graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and sociology from Western Kentucky University in 2013, and spent a year covering education in the dusty oil fields of West Texas before moving to the Sunshine State.
Worship Leader: Jennifer Stokes
Accompanist: Gary Smart