NextGenRadio

Finding, coaching and training public media’s next generation.

what does it mean to be Floridian?

is a set of audio and digital stories highlighting the experiences of people in one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.

This project was produced in January 2023 in partnership with WUSF Public Radio in Tampa, FL and WMFE Public Radio in Orlando, FL. Our reporters are university journalism students in Florida.

How one fisherman is sustaining his livelihood through environmental advocacy

by JULIA COOPER

Steve Friedman, 52, always thought he’d spend his days in a cubicle surrounded by buttoned up shirts and staplers. Instead, he passes the time in a rash guard and polarized sunglasses on the waters of the Florida Keys.

An animated illustration portraying Fred, a Black man, throughout three stages of his life in front of his childhood home. His childhood is black and white, with him as a boy reading the newspaper and his mother is sitting on the porch. His adulthood in Sepia with him standing tall and proud, and the porch seat is empty. The final frame showing him in the present as an old man looking to the future. The vegetation and garden of the house grow with him, starting from minimal to lush foliage.

An advocate for the historically Black neighborhood of Newtown is inspired by his love for his fellow Floridians

by BASIL PURSLEY

Fredd “Glossie” Atkins, 70, grew up in Newtown, a historically Black community in Sarasota, where he lived through desegregation, and has since taken on the roles of leading, uplifting and protecting his community. He’s continuously motivated to fight for his Florida hometown through his desire to take care of and connect with the people who live here.

A South Beach staple French bakery may be relocating later this year

by AMMY SANCHEZ

In the middle of the night, workers get to Bettant Bakery to start preparing all of the pastries they’ll be selling throughout the day. Cutting fresh dough and braiding it into challah rolls, or folding it into croissants.

Through freezes and diseases, citrus grower’s identity springs from the soil

by MARIAN SUMMERALL

Eddie White, 64, is president of Red Hill Groves, a citrus farm that has been in his family for four generations. But since the 1970s, White has watched a steady host of changes and problems – including rapid urbanization, multiple freezes and invasive diseases – diminish the citrus industry in Florida and his own family’s citrus acreage. Despite these challenges, his business means a lot to him, and his property is a special place for him and his family.

Florida poet finds a ‘Sunshine State of life’ by empowering others

by TASHIE TIERNEY

From staying in laundromats for warmth to becoming an established poet, Yuki Jackson has experienced the dark and light sides of Florida. She uses these experiences, as well as her gift of poetry, to help children in her Tampa community of Sulphur Springs through the organization known as The Battleground.