John Lievonen
Career
I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the best journalists and newsrooms in Florida during the course of my career.
I worked tirelessly to help generate informative, impactful and unique local news during my time at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
In 2019, WUFT News published an investigation into the Gainesville Job Corps Center – a federally-funded vocational school for disadvantaged students. My reporting based on thousands of pages of documents and countless interviews revealed the site’s poor environmental track record, low academic standards and decades of mismanagement.
Working with The Gainesville Sun reinvigorated my passion for the newspaper industry. Here, I was able to report exclusively that the local supervisor of elections office was a recipient of the Russian government’s 2016 election meddling efforts via a malicious email.
Interviewing Andrew Gillum (April 2017)
The fast paced newsroom of the South Florida Business Journal was an exhilarating challenge, which I embraced. This experience – through the Dow Jones News Fund – included a cover story on PortMiami, covering LGBTQ businesses and local bankruptcy issues.
Leading the Florida Political Review, the largest student-run public policy website in the state, helped me understand the power of politics and how the public consumes information.
My first journalism gig was writing for my high school newspaper, The Paw Print.
Bio
I probably asked too many questions growing up in sunny South Florida.
But that trait has now led to a passion for history, travel and looking for the next adventure.
In college, I joined the academic-Jeopardy Quiz Bowl team. Our team competed at the national championship tournament where I mainly answered the current events questions.
I've competed in the Miami Marathon and a few triathlons. I'm on the hunt for my next race.
In May 2019, I earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida with a specialization in political science.
I currently reside in Delray Beach, Florida with two cats.
Tokyo, Japan (Dec. 2018)