WUWF’s Pat Crawford Wins Distinguished University Award
April 1, 2022 – WUWF‘s veteran executive director Pat Crawford was awarded the University of West Florida Marion Viccars Award.
This award was established to recognize superior service of university employees for substantial contributions, outstanding performance, and professionalism impacting operations, service excellence, inter-departmental effectiveness, and community involvement.
WUWF Public Media)
In addition to this milestone, 2022 marks Crawford’s 40th anniversary with WUWF Public Media.
“We are proud of Pat for winning this prestigious award,” said Patrick Yack, executive director of Florida Public Media.
“Pat has made many lasting contributions to WUWF, the university and the community. We can all be thankful for his dedicated service.”
WJCT-FM Celebrates 50th Anniversary
March 21, 2022 — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — WJCT Public Media today announced the launch of its “50 Years of Radio That Matters” campaign, celebrating a half-century of local news and music on its flagship radio station — and a half-century of community support.
WJCT FM debuted on April 10, 1972 as “Stereo 90,” broadcasting music, news, and public affairs programming for approximately 18 hours a day. Today, after changing to an all news/talk format in 2020 that has seen the station garner some of the largest audiences in its history, the station operates as WJCT News 89.9. Its programming includes WJCT productions such as the local public affairs call-in program “First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross,” which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020, and the new health program “What’s Health Got To Do With It,” which debuted last fall. WJCT News 89.9 is also the co-producer of the statewide public affairs program “The Florida Roundup,” and broadcasts other Florida-focused programs such as “Florida Frontiers” and “Capital Report,” in addition to local newcasts throughout the day.
Additionally, the station is Northeast Florida’s local source for the two most popular news magazine programs in the country, “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” from NPR News. Alongside these listener favorites, WJCT News 89.9 carries programs from a range of program producers and distributors, including National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media, PRX and others.
Financial support provided by listeners is the stations’ largest source of revenue. WJCT Public Media will share highlights from the station’s history across its website, app, broadcasts and social media in the weeks leading up to its golden anniversary, culminating in a one-day pledge drive on Friday, April 8, 2022. The organization seeks to raise $50,000 to support its broadcast operations.
“The media landscape — much like our local community — has changed in ways great and small since we first took to the airwaves,” said David McGowan, President and CEO of WJCT Public Media.
“Today, we reach more people in more neighborhoods of Northeast Florida than ever before. Listeners find us on the air, on their phones and on demand. Though our delivery methods have increased in number, we still hold to the singular vision that fueled our first broadcast: that serving this community matters most.”
WJCT Public Media is currently accepting messages from listeners to share on wjct.org, WJCT News 89.9, Jax PBS, and social media. Supporters can submit their congratulations, an 89.9 FM memory or their favorite “driveway moment” that kept them listening through a story’s end at wjct.org/50.
In celebration of the station’s anniversary, WJCT Public Media has also introduced:
- Voices from the Past, a series of personal messages from the station’s hosts, reporters and producers from across the decades
- A limited-edition line of commemorative merchandise
- A special edition of First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross dedicated to honoring the past and celebrating the future
- An online toolkit that supporters can use to celebrate the station’s anniversary
To learn more about the “50 Years of Radio That Matters” campaign, including opportunities to donate, click here.
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About WJCT:
WJCT is the community-owned and operated public media organization serving Jacksonville and the First Coast since 1958, using television, radio, digital media, and live events to help community members learn, share, and grow. For more information on WJCT’s in-depth programming content, log on to WJCT Online atwjct.org. Like WJCT on Facebook (facebook.com/wjctjax) and follow WJCT on Twitter (@WJCTJax) and Instagram (@WJCTJax).
WFSU, WJCT, WGCU Chosen for Poynter’s Table Stakes Program
The Poynter Institute
March 15, 2022 – The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism, fact-checking and media literacy education, announced the 14 news organizations selected for Table Stakes: Poynter’s Local News Innovation Program in 2022.
Among the newsrooms selected include Florida public radio stations: WFSU (Tallahassee), WJCT (Jacksonville) and WGCU (Ft. Myers/Naples).
This is the fifth year of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation-funded and Poynter-facilitated initiative to accelerate digital transformation and sustainability in local news.
More than 60 newsrooms across the United States have realized their performance challenges through Poynter’s program since 2017, while also adapting to the coronavirus pandemic, intensifying racial reckoning and ongoing business model changes.
The Florida initiatives include:
Jacksonville Today, a product of WJCT Public Media, Jacksonville,
FloridaParticipants: Jessica Palombo, Editorial Director; Ray Hollister, Digital Director; and Pete Havens, Local Journalism Business and Donor Relations Manager
Our new digital news offering, Jacksonville Today, launched in October 2021 as a weekday email newsletter, giving readers a concise rundown of top local news, along with original reporting, ways to get civically involved, opinion columns and more. As we build on our initial success, we are hoping the Table Stakes challenge tracking process will help us grow our base of subscribers and engage our audience in new ways, all while building a more diverse team within our newsroom.
WFSU Public Media, Tallahassee, Florida
Participants: David Mullins, GM; Lynn Hatter, News Director; Patricia Moynihan, Digital Director; Kim Kelling, Director of Content; and Crystal Cumbo, Corporate Support
This program is critical in helping us reorient our newsroom on the importance of building our digital audiences. We know that growing audiences will translate to more members and better future outcomes for the station.
WGCU Public Media, Fort Myers, Florida
Participants: Amy Shumaker, Associate General Manager of Content; Corey Lewis, General Manager; and Pamela James, Executive Producer of Content
Our Executive team is leading our entire staff through organizational change to meet the changing needs of our audience. Poynter’s 2022 Tables Stakes program ensures that we will meet our goals and ambitions with greater ease and clarity. Poynter has been there before and we are happy to take their guidance.
Florida Public Media Stations Win Suncoast Emmys
Five Florida Public Media stations were honored with 14 Suncoast Emmy Awards this year.
They included: WEDU PBS, WFSU Public Media, WLRN Public Radio and Television, WPBT2 South Florida PBS, and WUCF TV.
The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a nonprofit Florida corporation dedicated to excellence in television.
It offers the annual Regional EMMY® Awards called The Suncoast Regional EMMY® Awards to television markets in the entire State of Florida, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and New Orleans, Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, Thomasville, Georgia and Puerto Rico.
“The Chapter is composed of professional people who work in television or students who are studying television in colleges or universities and aspire to become professionals.”
FPM Elects Mullins Chair, Grove Vice Chair, Adds McGowan
The board of Florida Public Media elected David Mullins, General Manager, WFSU Public Media, as its new chair in a special election. Mullins succeeds Phil Hoffman, former Executive Director of WUCF-FM/TV (Orlando).
The board also added David McGowan, President and CEO of WJCT Public Media (Jacksonville) as its At-Large member of the Executive Committee.
Other members chosen for the Executive Committee include:
- Vice Chair. Paul Grove. President and CEO. WEDU-TV. (Tampa-St. Petersburg)
- Treasurer. Amy Shumaker, Associate General Manager – Content, WGCU-FM/TV (Ft. Myers/Naples)
- Secretary. Chris Puorro, Station Manager of WQCS-FM (Ft. Pierce)
- Immediate Past Chair. Randy Wright, Executive Director, WUFT-FM/TV(Gainesville/Ocala)
Florida Public Media (FPM) is the organization of 24 public radio and public television stations in the state. The stations broadcast programming by NPR and PBS, and a wide range of news, public affairs, and music programs.
TV members provide the main distribution of The Florida Channel, and radio members serve as the backbone of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network (FPREN).
FPREN is headquartered at WUFT on the campus of The University of Florida in Gainesville.
FPM is the state’s leader in educational programming and emergency communications.
WFSU, WLRN, WUFT Win National Murrow Awards
The Radio Television Digital News Association today announced the national winners of the 2021 Edward R. Murrow Awards. These awards recognize more than 100 outlets for outstanding work in digital, radio and television journalism in technical and editorial categories.
WLRN (Miami) was received a national award for Overall Excellence.
WUFT (Gainesville) won national recognition for video reporting in the small market radio and students categories. You can watch the feature story, Beyond the Finish Line.
WFSU (Tallahassee) won a national award for it series, Committed: How and Why Children Became The Fastest Growing Group Under Florida’s Baker Act.
“A core pillar of RTDNA is celebrating the best in journalism, and one of the ways we do that is through the Edward R. Murrow Awards,” said RTDNA Executive Director Dan Shelley.
“This year especially, we are honored to recognize outstanding achievements in broadcast and digital journalism. The past 18 months have been some of the most challenging in the history of our profession, and these recipients — among thousands of other journalists — clearly fulfilled their obligations to serve the public.”
There were more than 5,200 entries this year. In May, RTDNA recognized more than 750 winners of the Regional Murrow Awards, which automatically advanced to the national competition.
Hoffman Departs WUCF
Julian Wyllie. Current.
Phil Hoffman announced Monday that he is leaving his role as executive director and assistant VP of WUCF in Orlando, Fla.
In an announcement on Facebook, Hoffman cited personal reasons for his departure.
“The past 18 months have changed everyone’s lives, including mine. My wife and I have returned to visit our parents in Ohio 3-4 times per year, but that became unsustainable during the pandemic,” he said. “A 17-hour car ride each way was punishing. Something had to change. And Corona seems to be insistent on overstaying its welcome.”
Hoffman said he will work on national public media initiatives as a consultant, adding that “the time is right for my next public media adventure.”
Hoffman joined WUCF in 2016. During his tenure, he said, the station has more than tripled membership to nearly 26,000 and adopted ATSC 3.0.
Before joining WUCF, Hoffman was director of broadcast services and GM for KMOS in Warrensburg, Mo. He was also GM for ZTV, a student-run station at the University of Akron, and GM for WAPS in Akron, Ohio.
Jennifer Cook was named interim ED for WUCF after Hoffman’s departure. She previously worked as senior director of content and engagement.
President Biden Nominates Liz Sembler for CPB board
President Joe Biden has nominated three people to serve on CPB’s board of directors.
The nominees are Elizabeth Sembler, Kathy Im and Tom Rothman. They will join the board if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. CPB’s board has four vacant seats.
Sembler, a retired educator and administrator, most recently worked as director of engagement at Congregation B’nai Israel in St. Petersburg, Fla. She served on CPB’s board of directors from 2008–2020 and was board chair from 2014–16.
Sembler has also been a board chair for WEDU PBS in Tampa, Fla., where she is still a serving board member, and was a board member for America’s Public Television Stations.
More information about President Biden’s CPB nominees is available from the Current.
WJCT Announced As Member Of National Climate Coverage Collaborative
The Local Media Association has announced 22 news outlets from across the country, including Jacksonville’s own WJCT News 89.9 and WJCT News partner News4Jax, that will be participating in its new Covering Climate Collaborative. WJCT produces ADAPT, a digital magazine focused on how climate change is impacting Northeast Florida and what’s being done about it, and the ADAPT Newsletter.
This new collaboration will help participating newsrooms focus on covering the local impacts of climate change and how communities are responding to it.
“We’re thrilled to announce this group of newsrooms that are recognized for their commitment to reporting locally on the impacts of climate change,” said Frank Mungeam, chief information officer for the Local Media Association (LMA), one of the largest local media trade associations in North America. “This collaboration brings together newsrooms with diverse platform expertise — from print to digital to audio and video — and represents key regions directly affected by our changing climate.”
The partners are grouped into five regional hubs:
East/Southeast
- Florida: WJCT Public Media, WJXT-TV, The Miami Herald, WKMG-TV Orlando and Florida International University’s South Florida Media Network
- North Carolina: The News & Observer
- South Carolina: The Post & Courier
Gulf Coast
- Louisiana: The Times Picayune and WWNO/WRKF Radio
- Texas: KPRC-TV Houston and KSAT-TV San Antonio
Great Lakes
- Illinois: WBEZ Chicago
- Michigan: Great Lakes Echoat Michigan State University, Planet Detroitand WDIV-TV
Southwest
- Arizona: ABC15-TV Phoenix
- New Mexico: The Paper (Albuquerque) and NMPBS Public Radio
West
- California: The Sacramento Bee, KGO-TV San Francisco and Southern California Public Radio
- Washington: Investigate West
Journalists from these news outlets will focus on the major threats climate change poses to their region, collaborating on local coverage and exchanging content with other members, both in their region and from across the country.
For more information, please see WJCT’s website.
South Florida PBS talks to Ken Burns and Lynn Novick about their newest documentary, HEMINGWAY
Miami, Florida – Just in time for Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s April 5th premiere of their newest documentary, HEMINGWAY, join South Florida PBS on Zoom on March 9th for the South Florida PBS installment of Conversations on Hemingway with filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, writer Cristina Garcia and author/journalist Brin-Jonathan Butler.
The South Florida PBS conversation, in partnership with Books & Books @ the studio Key West, FIU’s Casa Cuba, and The Hemingway House & Museum, will focus on the South Florida connection: Hemingway, the Sea and Cuba. The discussion will be moderated by Ann Bocock, host of South Florida PBS’ book review program, Between the Covers. Hemingway documentary will premiere on South Florida PBS’ WPBT and WXEL on April 5th at 9 PM.
In conjunction with the broadcast of HEMINGWAY on PBS, the author’s publisher, Scribner, will publish The Hemingway Stories, a new collection of the legendary writer’s greatest short stories featured in the documentary series. The Hemingway Stories features an introduction from award-winning writer Tobias Wolff, who is interviewed in the series.
HEMINGWAY paints an intimate picture of the writer—who captured on paper the complexities of the human condition in spare and profound prose, and whose work remains deeply influential around the world—while also penetrating the myth of Hemingway the man’s man, to reveal a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure. The film also explores Hemingway’s limitations and biases as an artist.
“Having studied Hemingway throughout my life, I’m overjoyed that PBS has created this new program and excited to learn more about Hemingway’s life and work,” said Dolores Sukhdeo, President and CEO of South Florida PBS. “I’m delighted that South Florida PBS was chosen as 1 of 9 stations across the country to host a special virtual discussion ahead of the premiere and can’t wait to watch both the program and local discussion”.
In three two-hour episodes, HEMINGWAY tracks the meteoric rise and tragic fall of the author who, in his final years, suffered from chronic alcoholism, traumatic brain injuries and serious mental illness. In 1961, at the age of 61, Hemingway died by suicide, leaving behind an unparalleled body of artistic work and a complicated emotional legacy for those closest to him.
Narrated by long-time collaborator Peter Coyote, the series features an all-star cast of actors bringing Hemingway (voiced by Jeff Daniels), his friends and family vividly to life. Through letters to and from his four wives—voiced by Meryl Streep, Keri Russell, Mary-Louise Parker and Patricia Clarkson—the film reveals Hemingway at his most romantic and his most vulnerable, grappling at times with insecurity, anxiety and existential loneliness.
Hemingway, the Sea and Cuba is part of a nine-part national conversation series that is open to the public and will take place remotely, creating a unique opportunity for people throughout the country to participate. People can register for one or more of the various virtual events at www.pbs.org/hemingwayevents.
