Jennifer Hunt Murty is the founder and publisher of the Ocala Gazette, an independently owned newspaper recognized as the area’s leading source of investigative reporting. We discuss her career in the legal field, what drove her into journalism, exposing failures in local first responder agencies, recidivism, the mental health crisis and so much more.
Jennifer launched the Gazette in 2020 to provide trustworthy, in-depth local journalism at a time when misinformation was on the rise and credible community news was in short supply. Murty came to journalism as a second career, guided by the belief—echoing Justice Hugo Black—that “the press was to serve the governed, not the governors.” That principle shapes her work daily.
Like many small newspaper owners, she juggles multiple roles—but reporting remains her greatest passion. In just five years, she has built a reputation for dogged persistence in overcoming public records exemptions and reporting roadblocks to uncover stories that hold the powerful to account.
The Gazette's Reports on the Deaths in Marion County's Jail:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=802963525588067&rdid=V5YEfyFQ3hNr7zdH
https://www.facebook.com/ocalagazette/videos/1417700989526937/?rdid=XN01wNdSvqiK4hBv#
Jennifer’s Linkedin: Click Here
Ocala Gazette: Click Here
Interview Transcript: Click Here