WGCU launches new TV show focusing on SW Florida news and issues
- Bill Studenc
- September 20, 2024
- Community
- Contributors: James Greco, Photography
6 – minute read
After collecting an armload of honors from two regional journalism associations this spring, WGCU Public Media continues its ambitious plan to increase staffing and enhance its news programming to help better meet the needs of Southwest Florida.
Under the leadership of Corey Lewis, who became general manager of WGCU-TV and WGCU-FM three years ago, the PBS and NPR affiliates have garnered dozens of awards for outstanding broadcast journalism. They include Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists awards for Station of the Year and a first-place trophy in political reporting for a story about a protest against working conditions on Florida farms, as well as Edward R. Murrow Awards for top news documentary, feature reporting and podcasting.
“It is a testament to investments in the station and a commitment to excellence that has to be there every day to win that volume of awards,” said Lewis, who came to Florida Gulf Coast University-based WGCU from WBUR in Boston in 2021. “Awards are one small form of affirmation, but awards are not why we do it. We do this work for the community.”
Lewis and his team lately have been focused on launching a new program on WGCU-TV, working in collaboration with “PBS News Hour” and other network affiliates. “Southwest Florida: In Focus” debuted Sept. 13 as a 30-minute weekly show with plans for expanding to a daily half-hour in about a year.
“The expansion of the weekly program depends on our fundraising success,” says Lewis. “I will be out in the community with our fundraising team looking for philanthropists and stakeholders who want to make a difference in the news landscape and the place we all call home.”
After a national search for the show’s anchor, Lewis found the perfect choice right in the building — current WGCU host Sandra Viktorova. “Southwest Florida: In Focus” is modeled after “News Hour,” initially based on a model of four or five stories of four to five minutes apiece per broadcast. Some features may be longer or shorter based on the arc of the story. The idea is long-form journalism interviewing thought leaders for an audience of lifelong learners and curious community members, according to Lewis.
“We will tap into the great expertise and diverse voices that exist in Southwest Florida and at FGCU,” he said. “Our real ambition is to show PBS and affiliates all over the country that this can be done in a midsized market and on a reasonable budget. I don’t need to send 15 reporters all around the vast area our station covers to stand live in front of a closed courthouse just to say, ‘We’re in front of a courthouse.’”
Similarities with “News Hour” don’t end with the program’s concept. The PBS news stalwart recently upgraded its set and donated its previous one, originally built at an expense of approximately $100,000, to WGCU.
“Southwest Florida: In Focus” will provide in-depth coverage on a variety of topics including the economy, healthcare, the environment, housing, transportation, workforce development, politics, arts and culture, social services and cultural issues.
“We want to give the audience the credit they deserve for being interested in long-form journalism and substantive conversations on the issues that make a difference in our community,” Lewis said.
“The commercial model isn’t really built on long-form journalism, because it often has to get on as much variety as quickly as it can to keep as many eyes on it as it can.”
When Lewis first arrived in Fort Myers, WGCU had a staff of 32 people. Three years later, it has doubled to 64, with plans to grow to about 80. WGCU-FM once featured two hours of local news inserts in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. It now has 12 continuous hours of local news inserts daily, and six on-air voices have become 20.
With the growth of programming and addition of professional staff, FGCU students will play a larger role in helping produce content for WGCU through internships or fellowships, Lewis said.
“We’re in a rapid expansion mode at WGCU, and it would better serve our needs to hire the next generation of journalists that we can train in our ethos,” he said. “If we don’t have a place for them here, I have colleagues across the country who might need people. My goal for the students is to hire them or help them get hired across the public media system.”
Lewis credited FGCU for much of the stations’ success and for being “great partners and amazing stewards” of WGCU and its broadcast licenses. He sees the relationship as symbiotic.
“There will be tremendous opportunities for students as the programming grows and as we invest in it,” he said. “I want WGCU to be the crown jewel of FGCU. I want students around the country who are interested in journalism to look at these stations and say, ‘I want to come to Southwest Florida and to FGCU because these stations will give me the greatest opportunity.’”
As a public broadcasting service, WGCU depends on financial support through memberships, corporate underwriting and philanthropy. To learn more, visit WGCU’s giving page.