Florida Focus news reporters from the University of South Florida were on hand to provide coverage of Joe Biden’s presidential visit to Tampa, where he pledged to protect Medicare and Social Security, among other issues discussed.
Our student journalists were in place most of the day at UT and got a great taste of presidential media coverage. Haley Zarcone led our coverage at Tampa International Airport for the arrival of Air Force One.
Eagerly waiting for President Biden to arrive! Don’t forget to tune into our live as he takes the podium. 🇺🇸 Instagram: @floridafocususf & Facebook: Florida Focus News. pic.twitter.com/BKNzzKB08P
Wayne Garcia is an award-winning journalist and educator, working in Florida newspapers, colleges and political campaigns for 30 years. He is a senior instructor and former director of Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications. His background is in political and investigative journalism.
Garcia teaches courses in Mass Communications and Society, Beginning Reporting, Advanced Reporting, the Future of Journalism, Editing I, and Writing for the Mass Media.
As a journalist, he worked for the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune and Gainesville Sun daily newspapers. During his tenure as the political editor for the alt-weekly Creative Loafing, Garcia won two Sunshine State Awards for his political writing and his widely read political blog. He was the 2009 recipient of the Irene Miller Vigilance in Journalism Award from the Pinellas Chapter of the ACLU.
He is a past executive director of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, the leading advocacy group for high school journalists in the state. As a political consultant for nine years, he ran or was part of more than 100 campaigns in the state of Florida.
A native of Scotch Plains, N.J., who grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Garcia is a Florida Gator and a USF Bull, having earned his master’s degree from USF St. Petersburg.
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