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 Marco Island Historical Society is hosting a retrospective exhibition of works by Naples-based impressionist painter Paul Arsenault titled, “Reflections of South Florida: A 50-Year Art Adventure,” through Feb. 15, 2025. We listen back to our conversation with Arsenault ahead of the opening reception about his work, his storied career, and his advocacy for protection of our natural world. -
In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in March 2024, we hear sisters Jan Doetsch and Karla Doetsch Wheeler share memories of their parents who both served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, and how they met in 1945 after the war ended. -
Arts of the Inland Gallery in LaBelle will host a juried exhibition of works by artist members on Saturday, Nov. 16. We’ll learn more about the gallery’s efforts to extend visual, literary, and performing arts offerings into Southwest Florida’s more rural inland communities in a conversation with gallery president Stella Luckey and Board of Directors member Brandon Jett. -
In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in March 2024, we hear Sue and Curt Dunham talk about their more than six decades-long relationship, raising children, and their shared adventurous love of boating, which eventually led them to set down roots in Southwest Florida. -
Tuesday’s election marks an historic red wave here in Florida from the Presidential race to constitutional amendment proposals, down to local political contests. WGCU Southwest Florida in Focus host Sandra Viktorova provides some post-election analysis in a conversation with FGCU political scientist Dr. Sandra Pavekla and WGCU host/reporter John Davis. -
In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in March 2024, we hear Joan and Dick Jones talk about how the influence of their parents fostered a life-long curiosity about the world, and how that shaped their lives traveling the world together, in large part due to Dick’s work with the American Diplomatic Corps. -
Florida’s Nov. 5 elections include the race for Senate District 27 between Republican incumbent Ben Albritton and Democratic challenger Phillip Carter. The district includes Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee counties, and portions of Lee and Polk counties. -
For our Halloween episode, we listen back to our 2023 conversation with writer, researcher, folklorist and host of the podcast "Tripping on Legends," Christopher Balzano about some of Southwest Florida's lesser-known folklore, legends, and myths. -
In this Halloween installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in February 2024, we hear author Kim Cool recount her experience of bringing psychics into the Sarasota winter home of circus mogul John Ringling and his wife Mable Burton Ringling in search of ghosts. -
Players Circle Theater in Fort Myers opens its 6th season with playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy “Bedroom Farce.” Ahead of opening night we explore the production in a conversation with the company’s Robert Cacioppo, Carrie Lund Cacioppo, and Ted Wioncek III.
