Radio Spotlight

Award Winning Reporter

WGCU-FM’s Farah Dosani has received a Florida Associated Press Broadcasters award. The award was for a radio feature about doctors who work in underserved areas. Farah produced the feature as part of HealthyState.org, a Local Journalism Center collaboration between WGCU and other Florida public media stations and directed by WUSF in Tampa.              

         After arriving at the station in mid-2009 as an intern, Dosani earned two broadcasting awards for a feature on Southwest Florida’s Hindu community and their challenges in building the region’s first Hindu temple. In July 2010, Dosani became a full-time reporter for the HealthyState.org  While working for WUSF-FM in Tampa from WGCU’s studios as part of Healthy State.org, Farah also received a statewide award for a  feature that explored combating domestic violence in the Haitian community.

         The HealthyState.org project, funded by a two-year Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant, ends this month. She will remain at WGCU-FM, where listeners will continue to hear her award-winning approach to health and other news stories. She is also filling in for All Things Considered host Valerie Alker when the need arises.

         Dosani grew up in Fort Myers and earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a double major in journalism and religious studies from the University of Miami. She plans to return to graduate school this fall to pursue health and journalism.“To me, journalism is about human beings,” she says. “The opportunity to meet so many different types of people and share their stories is a privilege. It’s what I value most about my job.”

Listen to Classical on HD Radio

Classical Music on HD radio is back on the air. We have restored our HD radio signal. Enjoy 24 hours a day of Classical music on HD Radio. You can also listen to our Classical music stream by going to "Listen Live," or with our WGCU mobile app.

Member Essay: Public Radio Shapes Lives

Every week, my second-grade teacher at Granville Elementary School in Ohio led our class down the narrow, stone stairway to the basement of our ancient schoolhouse to experience magic. The basement was Richie’s domain — Mr. Richards, that is, the jovial old janitor whose grandfatherly nature made him a favorite to us kids. Amidst the clutter of mop buckets and brooms sat the most high-tech audiovisual device in the entire school: a radio. (Hey, it was 1945!)

Playing over the radio each week was a children’s radio drama called “Let’s Pretend.” Unlike the boring news my father listened to, or the endless Cleveland Indian’s games that absorbed by brother, “Let’s Pretend” captivated me and stimulated my imagination. This was my first experience with public radio, and I was hooked.

In the sixth grade, my teacher took our class to Ohio State University for a day-long field trip. We toured a historical museum and the School for the Blind, but the spot that stood out for me was a visit to the WOSU public radio studio. The staff members showed us the production equipment and the broadcast booths. A very funny man who made unbelievable sounds with no special equipment treated us to a demonstration of radio sound effects. His name was Jonathan Winters. Later, we marveled as three actors played a dozen roles in an on-air production of “Let’s Pretend.”  What a thrill to go to the source of the broadcasts that had so enthralled me as a second grader.

Years passed, and I was spending a summer painting houses to pay my way through college. I carried my portable radio with me as I worked, tuned to WOSU public radio.  The constant stream of classical music kept me focused on my work and entertained at the same time. Live coverage of breaking civil rights news stories would often interrupt the music. I recall vividly — while painting the second story of Professor Huckabee’s house — listening to Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. There I was, a strapping young man, sitting on a porch roof cutting in the window trim, tears welling in my eyes, as I wondered how our society had come to such a place. That summer was the beginning of my social and political awakening and the formation of my core values.

From that point on, no matter where I have lived, I’ve sought out public radio stations that feed my hunger for news, commentary and music. The call letters of these radio stations trace the trajectory of my life, from WOSU in Columbus; to KQED in San Francisco; to WDET in Detroit; and currently WGCU in Southwest Florida (with periodic interludes with WUNC in Chapel Hill and WNYC in New York City).

Thanks, NPR. The ride wouldn’t be nearly as enriching or as fun without you.

David Pendergast, of Naples, is a long-time listener and member of WGCU Public Media.

New Morning Edition Host John Davis

John Davis is the new local host of Morning Edition, that airs weekdays on 90.1/91.7 FM. Davis replaces Mike Kiniry. John joined the WGCU radio staff in November 2009 as a news reporter. He recently was awarded a first place award by the Florida Associated Press for “best investigative feature.” John's investigative feature story also garnered a “Best in Show” award from the Florida AP. He is the recipient of a 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for best news series. He is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University and holds a bachelor’s degree in communication. Amy Tardif, FM station manager and news director, said “John brings a wealth of experience to his new job as host of Morning Edition. We know that listeners will welcome him into their morning routines and will come to rely upon him to bring them state and national news, weather and traffic information.”