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Mary Shedden

News Director

Mary Shedden is news director at WUSF Public Media, where she oversees a team of reporters covering 13 counties on Florida’s west coast.

A journalist for more than two decades, Mary arrived at WUSF in 2013, where she worked first as a reporter and then as editor of the Health News Florida journalism collaborative. She became news director in 2015.

Mary’s journalism has been recognized numerous times, including a 2016 national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio and Television Digital News Association for Health News Florida. Her work also has been honored by the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, and state and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Before joining WUSF, Shedden spent nearly 20 years at The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com, Florida Today and the Gainesville Sun, where she covered everything from the investigation of a serial killer to retired pro athletes in chronic pain.

Contact Mary at 813-974-8636, on twitter @MaryShedden or by email at shedden@wusf.org.

 

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Florida Reports 221 Lives Lost So Far Due To Coronavirus

By • Apr 5, 2020
map of coronavirus cases in Florida on April 5, 2020
Florida Department of Health

Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 221 people in Florida, and infected more than 12,000, according to Sunday evening’s update from the Florida Department of Health.

Latest On Coronavirus: State Cases Surpass 12,000, Jail Deputy Tests Positive For Covid-19, And More

By , & • Apr 5, 2020

WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:

Total positive cases of coronavirus as of 6 p.m. Sunday, April 5, according to the Florida Department of Health.

11,961 – Florida Residents | 9 – Florida Cases Repatriated | 389 – Non-Florida Residents | 221 – Deaths

Latest On Coronavirus: Schools Closed Through May 1, Pastor Arrested, And More

By & • Mar 30, 2020
coronavirus image

WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:

Total positive cases of coronavirus as of 6 p.m.. Monday, March 30, according to the Florida Department of Health.

5,489 – Florida Residents | 9 – Florida Cases Repatriated | 215 – Non-Florida Residents | 71 – Deaths

Pinellas Law Enforcement Making Sure Businesses Following Rules

By • Mar 27, 2020
CARL LISCIANDRELLO/WUSF PUBLIC MEDIA

Pinellas County businesses are being warned to follow recommendations designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus or they will be forced to close.

Tampa Mayor To Request Countywide Shelter-In-Place Order

By • Mar 23, 2020
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor speaks at a podium
City of Tampa photo

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor will be asking Hillsborough County leaders to issue a county-wide ‘stay-at-home’ order as soon as Monday.

Castor said Saturday that she will take the request to ‘shelter in place’ to the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group – a consortium of the cities and the county making decisions related to coronavirus.

Coronavirus Cases In Florida Top 1,000

By • Mar 22, 2020
map of Florida Coronavirus cases
Florida Department of Health

The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus topped 1,000, according to the Sunday evening update from the Florida Department of Health.

The total cases - 1,007 – reflect a 237-person increase in just 24 hours. It’s the result in a massive ramp up in testing across the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier Sunday.

Watch: Coronavirus Briefing From The White House

By • Mar 22, 2020
The White House
Noah Fortson/NPR

Watch the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including regular White House briefings. 

The Sunday, March 22 briefing is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.

Florida Coronavirus Cases Continue To Climb

By • Mar 22, 2020
health department count of new coronavirus cases
Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health Sunday morning announced one new death and 67 new cases of people testing positive for coronavirus.

Florida now has 830 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths from the virus. Sixty-two of those cases were found in non-Florida residents.

Latest on Coronavirus: State Total Over 1,000; Students At USF, UT Test Positive And More

By • Mar 22, 2020
image of coronavirus

WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:

Six University Of Tampa Students Test Postive For COVID-19

By • Mar 22, 2020
Plant Hall building at University of Tampa
University of Tampa

The University of Tampa reports that six students, including five who traveled together for Spring Break, have tested positive for COVID-19.

One student who travelled internationally tested positive at the student health center on March 16, and is self-isolated on campus. Four of the remaining five students who were on spring break are self-isolating and on campus, university officials said in a statement Saturday evening.

One of the students did not return to campus but is self-isolating. None needed to be hospitalized.

2019 Contest Entry: Anchor

By • Mar 20, 2020

WUSF All Things Considered Host: Lisa Peakes

Contest Entry: 2019 Radio Reporter

By • Mar 20, 2020

Radio Reporter Entry: WUSF's Stephanie Colombini

2019 Contest Entry: Continuing Coverage

By • Mar 20, 2020

The state spent the past two years cracking down on fraudulent billing practices by clinics that provide behavior analysis therapy to children on the autism spectrum.

But now, behavior analysis agencies say the state is making provider credentialing difficult, and in some cases, is retracting the credentials for a position called a registered behavior tech, even if the agency previously approved their paperwork.

WUSF's Daylina Miller was the first reporter in Florida to identify this issue and her reporting led to changes in how the state was addressing the problem.

Latest On Coronavirus: Florida Cases Spike Past 100, No More 24-Hour Walmarts, And More Updates

By , & • Mar 15, 2020
front of Walmart store
iStock

WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:

Latest On Coronavirus: Schools and Courts Close, Grand Prix Cancelled, And More Updates

By & • Mar 13, 2020
JONAH HINEBAUGH/WUSF PUBLIC MEDIA

WUSF will be providing the latest news and information on coronavirus in Tampa Bay and across the state. Here are the latest developments:

Primary Turnout May Be Dampened By Earlier Contests, Coronavirus

By • Mar 13, 2020
voting signs
Mary Shedden/WUSF

Excitement over Florida's presidential primary is waning, thanks to earlier voting contests in other states and the growing concerns over coronavirus.

Coronavirus in Florida: 16 New Cases Announced Thursday Night

By • Mar 13, 2020
Tips for preventing coronavirus
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The list of new positive cases of coronavirus in Florida grew by 16 late Thursday, bringing the total in state to 42, according to Florida Department of Health.

Nine of the new cases have been connected to travel, including two men who were part of a Nile River cruise and tour in Egypt. One is a case stemming from Port Everglades, and the root of infection for the remaining seven is unclear, the department said in a statement.

Latest Coronavirus Patients Attended Bike Week, Tampa Conference

By • Mar 11, 2020
coronavirus
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Florida Department of Health has announced six new cases of coronavirus, including a Broward County man who attended a recent conference in Tampa and a tourist visiting for Bike Week.

'I-4 Votes' Aims to Highlight Issues Important To Central Florida Residents

By , & • Mar 10, 2020
The image displays a header for the I-4 Votes project.

Floridians are going to the polls on March 17 for the state’s presidential primary. This election cycle, WUSF is focusing on the issues rather than the political horse race.

To do that, WUSF has teamed up with reporters at NPR member station WMFE in Orlando for I-4 Votes, a collaboration covering the election issues that matter to those living along the I-4 corridor.

WrestleMania In Tampa Is A Sort Of Homecoming

By & • Mar 3, 2020
Hulk Hogan on stage
Mark Schreiner / WUSF Public Media

Professional wrestling, or as it’s called in some circles, “sports entertainment,” has a long history in Florida and in Tampa.

Florida Matters: Jews Play Important Part In Florida's Story

By , & • Feb 18, 2020
Family from 1917 in front of house

Despite not being officially allowed to live in Florida until 1763, Jewish people escaping expulsion and exclusion were among the earliest settlers of the state.

A new comprehensive history – "Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories" – takes a look at that historic individuals who include politicians, business leaders, artists and Nobel Prize winners.

2019 Contest Entry: Investigative/Continuing Coverage Reporting

By • Dec 31, 2019

The state spent the past two years cracking down on fraudulent billing practices by clinics that provide behavior analysis therapy to children on the autism spectrum.

But now, behavior analysis agencies say the state is making provider credentialing difficult, and in some cases, is retracting the credentials for a position called a registered behavior tech, even if the agency previously approved their paperwork.

WUSF's Daylina Miller was the first reporter in Florida to identify this issue and her reporting led to changes in how the state was addressing the problem.

Earl Lennard, Former Hillsborough Schools Superintendent and Elections Supervisor, Dies

By • Dec 25, 2019
Hillsborough County Schools

Earl Lennard, a longtime educator who served as Hillsborough County’s Superintendent of Schools and as its Supervisor of Elections, died Monday after a long illness. He was 77.

Lennard became a teacher in Hillsborough schools in 1963, working his way up to the top post in 1996. He held that position nine years, and was appointed as Elections Supervisor from 2009 to 2012 after the death of Phyllis Busansky.

2019 Contest Entry: Newscast

By • Dec 17, 2019

Contest entry: Best Newscast, WUSF News Anchor Susan Giles Wantuck. 

December 17, 2019

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Once Was Here In Florida

By & Matthew Peddie • Nov 22, 2019
Matthew Peddie, WMFE

“A Beautiful Day InThe Neighborhood," the Hollywood film based on the life of Mr. Rogers and starring Tom Hanks opens this weekend.

What many don't know is that before he created the beloved children’s program, Fred Rogers’ neighborhood was here in Florida - on the campus of Rollins College in Winter Park.

Clearwater Coast Guard Crews Help Evacuate 19 From Bahamas

By • Sep 3, 2019
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater forward deployed MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews medevac seven critical patients from the Marsh Harbour Clinic to Nassau, Bahamas for further medical care. As Hurricane Dorian makes it way across the Bahamas, the Coast Gu

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Clearwater helped evacuate 19 people from a medical clinic in the Bahamas on Monday.

Historic Dorian, Pounds Bahamas As It Churns Toward Florida

By & • Sep 1, 2019
National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Dorian struck the northern Bahamas as a catastrophic Category 5 storm Sunday, its record 185 mph winds ripping off roofs, overturning cars and tearing down power lines as hundreds hunkered down in schools, churches and shelters.

Saving Florida's Coral Reefs

By , , & • Aug 27, 2019
The Florida Aquarium recently announced they had induced Atlantic coral to spawn in a laboratory for the first time.
Florida Aquarium

Florida's coral reefs are in trouble. Scientists say they've been declining for decades.

But researchers have very recently come up with some exciting results that they say show promise in restoring these beautiful and important marine communities.

Pinellas Trial To Test Florida's Stand Your Ground Law

By • Aug 16, 2019

A Pinellas County manslaughter trial starting Monday could shape how courts - and state residents - understand Florida's Stand Your Ground law.

Keeping Sewage Out Of Florida's Waterways

By , & • Aug 13, 2019
This week on Florida Matters we talk about what communities are doing to prevent sewage spills.
Julio Ochoa / WUSF Public Media

This week on Florida Matters we talk about what communities are doing to keep from releasing sewage and other contaminants into our local waterways. Part of the problem comes from aging wastewater and stormwater systems. 


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