Mary Shedden

This week on Florida Matters, we talk about zoning and how it affects the way our state manages growth.

It may sound mundane, but zoning and building regulations affect us intimately because they hit us where we live.

It’s been a year since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico. Recovery continues on the devastated island, but transitions are also happening here in Florida, where many residents evacuated and some have chosen to stay.

NPR recently received a firestorm of criticism for the way it handled an interview with the leader of a recent Unite the Right rally in Washington D.C. And it’s raising questions about how and why newsrooms make decisions about covering controversial sources.

Carson Cooper was a radio guy, through and through.

While most people know him best as the longtime host of WUSF’s Morning Edition and Florida Matters, his sonic roots ran deep. This week on Florida Matters, we’re remembering our friend and colleague who died recently at the age of 58 – and the stories he shared with all of us.

We've all gotten an email or seen something online that seems a bit fishy.

Some people take the bait, but some check it out and often rely on a well-known online mythbuster called Snopes.com.

President Donald Trump attracted plenty of praise and criticism from people flocking to the Florida State Fairgrounds Tuesday.

WUSF reporters spoke with supporters attending his campaign rally and protestors outside. What they had to say showed exactly how divided Floridians are about topics ranging from immigration to the environment to Trump himself.

A civil rights attorney best known for representing the family of Trayvon Martin said Thursday that prosecutors should not apply Florida's Stand Your Ground law in a recent shooting death near Clearwater.

The most famous crossword puzzle in the world may belong to the New York Times. For more than 75 years, vocabulary junkies have been grabbing the paper and a pencil and taking a stab at the grid of empty squares.

State politicians are jockeying for position before the August primaries. Pulse nightclub first responders are still struggling with PTSD more than two years after the mass shooting that killed 49 people. We take a deeper dive into these stories on this week’s Florida Matters monthly news roundtable.

The internet is talking this week about the death of 80-year-old Kathleen Dehmlow and her obituary in the Redwood Falls Minnesota Gazette, which was written and paid for by the woman’s own children.

In just 100 words, this tribute turned from announcement to anger, as it revealed a 60-year-old infidelity, and adult children who believe “the world is a better place without her.”

Protests are a staple of American democracy, but some journalism experts are worried about a recent story out of New Orleans, where a handful of paid actors attended a city council meeting about a controversial power plant.

Videos are an effective media known for its power to illicit emotion. And media consumers are learning the hard way that the images don’t have to be real to be convincing.

At a time when the public’s trust of the media is on the decline, some local and national journalists with potential conflicts of interest are finding themselves in the spotlight.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had his marathon chat with members of Congress. And there was a firestorm over local TV stations owned by Sinclair Media all reading the same script about “fake news.”

But lost in all that media news is a significant shift in the local media landscape in Tampa Bay.

Tampa strip club owner and cancer patient Joe Redner can use medical marijuana he grows on his own, a Leon County Circuit judge ruled Wednesday.

The world’s most popular social media network is in big trouble.

In less than two weeks, Facebook has watched its stock drop $90 billion - almost 20 percent of its value. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating the company, and founder Mark Zuckerberg has been summoned by Congress and the British Parliament to answer allegations that Facebook shared user data without permission.