Samantha Putterman

PolitiFact | Freelancer

United States

I am a reporter with PolitiFact.

Here, I get to work alongside a national team fact-checking politicians, pundits and the people of the United States.

I am a former news reporter at the Bradenton Herald, where I reported and wrote breaking news articles, local features, and stories involving business, government and education. I also worked as a digital news reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, where I mostly covered breaking news.

I graduated with my journalism degree from USF St. Petersburg in 2016.

I love that the truth is my job.

Take a look around.

Portfolio
@politifact
Bishop ad wrong on Slotkin's Medicare stance

The race for the U.S. House seat in Michigan's 8th district continues to heat up between Republican incumbent Mike Bishop and Democratic opponent Elissa Slotkin. In his latest move, Bishop aired a 30-second TV ad featuring a senior couple from Brighton - Ann and Richard.

@politifact
Delgado's hit on Faso's 'age tax' doesn't square with NY law

Congressional hopeful Antonio Delgado is pitting U.S. Rep. John Faso against his senior constituents. The Democratic candidate is challenging the Republican incumbent for the House seat in New York's 19th Congressional District, located in the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains. The district voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 by a margin of 6.8 percentage points.

Bradenton Herald
08/17/2018
Is there still red tide in Bradenton?

Nowadays, having waterfront property has started to become a bad thing in Manatee County. Disastrous red tide has massacred hundreds of thousands of marine life over the last several weeks up and down Florida's southwest coast. It rolled in to Manatee County nearly two weeks ago and hasn't showed much signs of slowing down.

Bradenton Herald
07/27/2018
Manatee residents angry over radio tower

At least 100 residents entrenched in a debate with Manatee County officials over a planned 185-foot public safety tower along Prospect Road voiced their concerns in a meeting with county officials Thursday night. The public meeting was held at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, at 7461 Prospect Road, which sits catty-corner from the tower site, 7510 Prospect Road.

Bradenton Herald
03/19/2018
Manatee County School District: Pros and cons of proposed tax hike

Manatee County voters will decide Tuesday whether to approve a proposed school district property tax hike that would generate an estimated $33 million per year for the next four years. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 30,000 ballots had been cast during early voting or by mail, according to the Manatee County Elections Office.

The Penny Hoarder
12/04/2017
These 6 Questions Will Help You Curb Compulsive Spending

I used to be a notoriously compulsive shopper. Those graphic T-shirts at Target that perfectly describe my life? Mine. That adorable three-legged rescue puppy in a Facebook ad? He needs me . A purple, crescent-moon-shaped, handcrafted thrift store nightstand? Have to have it.

Tampa Bay Times
06/30/2017
Biking is the hot new trend in Tampa Bay -- so is bike theft

TAMPA - Lindsey Cox was ecstatic when she got her first "real" bicycle. It was 2010. She bought the all-chrome BMX cruiser with soft baby blue components for $300. Her mother helped her get it for her 18th birthday. She loved it.

Tampa Bay Times
03/31/2017
USF grad has big plans for her tiny home

ST. PETERSBURG - The first night Stephanie Henschen slept in the 210-square-foot home she spent 10 months building, there was a thunderstorm. In a tiny home, everything sounds twice as loud. "My sink, my water heater, my air conditioner are all in the same spot," she said.

HeraldTribune.com
08/28/2016
Towers in the sky: How those cranes work

They jut above the skyline they are helping to create. They stand more than 300 feet high and can lift more than 40,000 pounds in a single load. The tower cranes can be seen in almost every direction in downtown Sarasota, lifting concrete forms and other materials around construction sites and swinging them into place with the stately movements of a giraffe.

HeraldTribune.com
06/25/2016
Port prepares for 'Panamax' surge

They're cracking the champagne in Panama today to celebrate the opening of a $5.25 billion expansion of that nation's storied canal, more than a century after the first ship sailed through the isthmus.

Heraldtribune
05/29/2016
Travel: On the trail of the 'Phantom of the Opera'

It was my last day in Paris. And after spending 11 days abroad without my bed or consistent air-conditioning, I was ready to be home. Still, no matter how many challenges my adventure had thrown at me, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

The Crow's Nest
04/18/2016
Reichgelt ousted after complaint

The university's top academic administrator was ousted 14 months ago after a complaint that involved USF's Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity. The sudden departure of Han Reichgelt, the regional vice chancellor of academic affairs, on Feb. 27, 2015, has been carefully managed by university officials, who for months have declined to discuss it.