Phil Ammann
WUSF Public Media named Health Editor Mary Shedden as News Director.
With more than two decades of reporting experience, Shedden has been at WUSF in Tampa since 2013. She has recently been editor of Health News Florida, which provides public radio and online health news.
Health News Florida, with reporters in Orlando, Miami, Tampa, and St. Petersburg, covers state and local health policy and issues. WUSF produces such programs as “Florida Matters,” and broadcasts NPR shows like “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”
“Many listeners may know Mary from her voice on the radio, but fewer may know she played such a pivotal leadership role behind the scenes, helping steer Health News Florida to where it is today,” said WUSF Public Media General Manager JoAnn Urofsky in a statement released on wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu. “We’re privileged to have someone move up the ranks here with such intense devotion, skill, and sure-footed news judgment.”
Shedden replaces Interim News Director Steve Newborn, the environmental and political reporter who supervised the newsroom for the past two years. Under Newborn’s watch, WUSF News received several dozen journalism awards.
Previously, Shedden served as senior health and business reporter for The Tampa Tribune/TBO.com and had worked for both Florida Today and the Gainesville Sun.
Shedden’s work earned her recognition by several professional organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Florida Society of News Editors. She also serves on the National Association of Health Care Journalists board of directors.
