WUSF to highlight families on the verge of poverty
May 16, 2022 - With funding from the Report for America national service program, WUSF Public Media is launching a new reporting focus this summer. According to the press release, a third of Tampa Bay residents live just above the federal poverty line and struggle to afford basic necessities. WUSF hired a new multi-media journalist, Gabriella Paul, to lead the reporting on their personal stories. The projects will showcase the tens of thousands of people in the region that are categorized as the working poor, “struggling to survive in a region where a growth and a tourism-based economy has fewer paths into the middle class.” Report for America is a national program that helps put more journalists in local newsrooms to report on overlooked issues by providing salary funding. WUSF plans to distribute the stories across all platforms, including radio, its website, podcasting and social media.