A new grant will allow several public broadcasters in Central Florida, including WUSF Public Broadcasting, to hire eight people for a special project focusing on in-depth health reporting. The project is called “The Healthy State Collaborative,” and it will create stories for television, radio and the Web about healthcare issues and policy. The two-year project is being funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It will include audio, video, text, photos, blogs, social networking, and mobile applications.

It will try to engage a younger and more diverse audience in addition to the existing public broadcasting audience, especially reaching out to students, faculty and alumni at area universities and partnering with community groups. President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service, Paula Kerger, said it’s a response to shrinking newsrooms at newspapers and commercial broadcasters.

“Others may be slashing their newsroom budgets, but we are increasing our budgets for newsgathering,” Kerger said. CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said “The Healthy State Collaborative” will cover health issues from a policy and a consumer point of view in a diverse area that is “way overdue for in-depth coverage.”

WUSF Public Broadcasting is the lead agency for the effort. Other stations involved include WEDU in Tampa, WGCU Public Media in Fort Myers, WMFE Public Media in Orlando, WMNF in Tampa and WUFT in Gainesville.The grant will create eight new positions among the participating stations, including five reporters, an executive editor, a senior multimedia manager and a community engagement specialist. Four other regions of the country received the CPB grants and will cover topics from the new economy to food production and policy. (Scott Finn - WUSF, Tampa)