Trusted Community Partner
Central Florida Public Media is committed to empowering local residents through unbiased, fact-based journalism that informs decision-making and fosters participation in the civic and cultural life of our community. We are the only local nonprofit news organization serving our entire nine-county region. We take that responsibility very seriously because, as a nonprofit, everything we do is in the public interest.
We are locally owned and operated, and our roots in Central Florida run deep. We signed on the air almost 45 years ago as a radio station, 90.7 WMFE-FM, then called “FM 90 plus.” We have grown into a multimedia news outlet, with our content also freely available to everyone on cfpublic.org, all podcast platforms, social media and at community events. Earlier this year, we embraced a new name and brand to reflect the many ways we serve our community.
We believe journalism is a public service because we know a healthy civil society depends on access to trusted news and information. Communities with strong local news are more connected, less politically divided and more civically active, with higher voting rates and more participation in groups like the PTA and Neighborhood Watch.
Central Florida Public Media’s local journalists go in-depth on critical regional issues, including housing, homelessness, health care, education and the arts. Our new discussion show Engage offers unique voices and perspectives on local news and culture. Our popular podcast Are We There Yet? explores the wonder of space exploration. Our annual Tiny Desk Contest Central Florida Showcase event celebrates grassroots local music.
We are also committed to developing the next generation of journalists who will continue our mission in the years to come.
Bolstering Local Journalism
As a public service organization, we are committed to ensuring our region always has a reliable source of independent news, information and civil discourse. We have significantly expanded our services, even as other news outlets have declined or disappeared entirely.
On Engage, which launched in February, host Cheryn Stone has spoken in depth with guests ranging from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to Bach Festival Society of Winter Park’s Artistic Director John Sinclair to Angela White-Jones, the first Black president of the Greater Orlando Junior League.
Our new weekly podcast The Wrap, hosted by Assistant News Director Brendan Byrne, offers busy listeners the chance to catch up on the most important local stories in under 12 minutes.
Our new housing and homelessness reporter Lillian Hernández Caraballo amplifies the voices of unhoused residents and shines a light on those searching for solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
With community support and through collaboration with content partners, including NPR and the BBC, we are committed to keeping our community informed on questions of local, national and global importance.
Developing the Next Generation
Our commitment to the future of journalism drives us to nurture and support the next generation of journalists. This year, we launched the Emerging Journalists Fellowship, an exciting initiative giving new graduates and career changers the opportunity to jumpstart their careers in our newsroom. This paid, year-long program allows us to mentor new reporters with training and hands-on experience, preparing them to be ethical and impactful journalists.
We also have an award-winning partnership with UCF's Nicholson School of Communication and Media on the “Sounds of Central Florida” initiative. Twice yearly, UCF journalism students pitch story ideas to our editors; the best are produced and featured on air and online.
Bringing People Together
During this time of sensationalism and divisive rhetoric, we aim to bring people together around civil discourse based on trusted facts. We are committed to listening first and amplifying voices from all parts of our community.
This election year, we are proud to lead regional participation in a national initiative called One Small Step, which invites people who disagree politically to sit together and record conversations about their lives. Residents from across the political spectrum are discovering they have more in common than they thought.
Myth Busting
Many people are surprised to learn that Central Florida Public Media is not owned, controlled or subsidized by NPR, nor are we primarily funded by the government. We are an entirely independent, locally owned and operated nonprofit, and we pay NPR for the privilege of providing its high-quality programming to our region.
Our vital work leading Central Florida’s community conversation depends almost entirely on community support, with nearly 90% of funding coming from individual donors, foundations, and corporate sponsors in our region.
We believe Central Floridians deserve a top-class public media news organization, and the investments we’ve made have put us on that trajectory. I invite you to be part of the journey and support our mission by visiting cfpublic.org.