This story is based on interviews with more than two dozen people, including current and former state officials, political consultants, lobbyists and journalists.

Four former Florida Politics journalists say [website founder and owner Peter Schorsch] repeatedly distorted coverage at the behest of corporate interests and political campaigns. He was not shy about such arrangements, associates say.

Schorsch makes no apologies for his business model, calling it “combination journalism.”

“As things evolved, I started to accept some of the rules of journalism, of the business of journalism,” Schorsch says. “And some of them I didn’t.”

For example, correspondence obtained by NPR and Floodlight shows Florida Politics invites candidates to pay for content about campaign activities like endorsements or fundraising. A review found that Florida Politics does not label the content as advertisements.

“I don’t think I’ve ever held myself up as a journalist. I’ve said that I’m a publisher, that I publish the work of other journalists,” Schorsch says. “There are still gray areas that I get into.”

Reputable news organizations have policies that explicitly bar favoring friends or advertisers in their coverage. He says his approach evolved organically from his start as a solo political blogger two decades ago.

“We’re setting new rules,” Schorsch says. “We’re very much a niche property that attracts advertising and sponsorship and partnership arrangements with people with whom we interact with, if not cover.”