Florida Matters

WUSF Public Media's Robin Sussingham, host of Florida Matters, along with Florida Matters producer Stephanie Colombini and WUSF News Director Mary Shedden discuss the historic community newspapers that report on ethnic audiences, like La Gaceta -- the tri-lingual paper that's approaching a century of publication in Tampa, and The Weekly Challenger, which has been serving the black community in St. Petersburg for 50 years. These papers have survived in proximity to larger, more mainstream newspapers, because they knew their audience and covered stories that other publications did not. But can they remain profitable in the age of the internet?

Florida Matters Host Robin Sussingham is joined by Zac Anderson, political editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune; Steve Newborn, WUSF reporter and assistant news director; and Florida Matters producer Stephanie Colombini. They discuss the most interesting political figures of 2017 and the most under-reported stories of the year, and they argue about whether mass transit is a boondoggle or not.

University of South Florida journalism instructor Jeanette Abrahamsen joins Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham and producer Stephanie Colombini to talk about the making of Telling Tampa Bay Stories. Jeanette and Stephanie spoke to longtime residents of Progress Village, Tampa's first affordable housing suburb for black residents, who described fond memories of growing up in the tightly-knit community, but worried about recent growth and demographic changes.

Progress Village was Tampa's first affordable housing suburb, and this week on Florida Matters we'll learn about its story and hear from residents who share their memories of growing up there. On this podcast, Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to WUSF News Director Mary Shedden and to Florida Matters Producer Stephanie Colombini about the people who agreed to tell their stories. We hear more about the pioneering families of Tampa's Progress Village, and why the sense of community was so strong in that neighborhood. We ask whether the Progress Village elders have a lesson for us in how to build the bonds of community.

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to producer Stephanie Colombini and reporter Daylina Miller about their experiences with live music around Tampa Bay. Stephanie says she's hardly missed a beat since moving from New York City; and Daylina tells us about why she loves death metal. Did you know that Tampa is the center of the world for death metal music?