John Davis
Host, Reporter, Assistant News Directorjrdavis@wgcu.org
John Davis has been a Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2007. For more than a decade he served as the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition. He currently serves as producer and host of WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life Arts Edition with John Davis. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA (now WESA) covering local government and general assignments. John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first-place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Davis helped lead news team coverage around the clock during Hurricane Irma in 2017, which won a National Edward R. Morrow Award. More recently, his election and political coverage has garnered awards from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists.
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The Gulf Coast Symphony’s upcoming 30th anniversary concert celebration will include the premiere performance of a symphonic piece titled, “Seas of Glass,” from local composer Frazar Henry. The 19-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist was commissioned by the symphony’s maestro to write the piece. Frazar has been composing music since he was just five years old. Ahead of the March 30th concert, Henry joins the show to talk about the composition and his extraordinary musical journey so far. -
The Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers is hosting a four-day family-friendly storytelling festival March 13 – 16. The event includes storytelling performances covering a wide variety of subjects and genres along with storytelling workshops. Ahead of the March 13th opening reception, we’ll get a preview from the event’s featured storytellers Paul Strickland and Erika MacDonald. -
Next week, Players Circle Theater is set to open its production of playwright Bruce Graham’s comedic play “Flatlanders.” It’s about a couple on the way to their wedding when they get stranded in a blizzard and resort to breaking into a cabin to survive the night. We take a closer look in a conversation with director Bob Cacioppo and actors Ted Wioncek and Kimberly Suskind. -
Just ahead of Florida’s annual legislative session, which begins March 4, our panel of political scientists weighs in on key legislative proposals lawmakers will consider over the next two months including firearm regulations, relief for condo owners, property taxes, tax holidays, state election policy, and much more. -
Ahead of the final weekend of Florida Repertory Theatre’s production of playwright Steven Dietz’s time travel love story “Bloomsday,” we listen back to our conversation with the playwright recorded on the set of the Florida Rep’s production. -
Laboratory Theater of Florida in Fort Myers announced this month that founding producing artistic director Annette Trossbach is retiring from the theater company. Trossbach reflects back on the triumphs and challenges that have come during her tenure, the theater’s impact on the Southwest Florida community, and highlights some of Lab Theater’s stand-out productions over the years. -
A production of playwright August Wilson’s “Jitney” opens this week at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. The play marks the eighth chronological installment in Wilson’s series known as the American Century Cycle. Set in the late 70s, “Jitney” centers on the lives of some unofficial, unlicensed taxi drivers operating in Pittsburgh’s Hill District community, where traditional taxi services wouldn’t go. We take a deeper dive in a conversation with director Sonya McCarter and actor Shontae White. -
In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in 2024, we hear Finzo Hall and his mother Marcia Robinson talk about immigrating from Jamaica to the U.S, Finzo’s determination to follow his dream of becoming a pilot, and helping other young people achieve their dreams through the powers of faith and resiliency. -
Florida Repertory Theatre in Fort Myers is mounting a production of playwright Steven Dietz’s time travel love story “Bloomsday.” We feature a conversation with the playwright recorded on the set of the Florida Rep’s production. -
In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in 2024, we hear husband and wife Siddharth and Dharani Sridharan talk about how they met through an arranged marriage, their relationship, and building a life together in the U.S.
