By Amy Diaz
American radio talk show host and journalist Joshua Johnson will broadcast his show, 1A, live Feb. 11 from the USF St. Petersburg University Student Center.
1A, which stands for the First Amendment, is a conversation about current events in areas like politics, technology, and culture. The show is produced by Washington’s National Public Radio station and distributed by NPR.
Usually, Johnson takes call-in, Facebook and Twitter questions while doing his show. His live show at USF St. Petersburg will allow audience members to ask questions.
The event was put together by the Open Partnership Education Network, Poynter Institute, WUSF Public Media and the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.
“Our mission is to help create a smarter, better connected community that learns and grows together,” said OPEN director Benjamin Smet. “We do that by facilitating learning communities
with our university faculty, staff and students, but also as a direct link to our community.”
Themes emerge from the diversity of opinions and ideas brought to the conversation by what OPEN refers to as “thought leaders.”
The latest theme to emerge is civility. Smet said that through continued conversations with various stakeholders and thought leaders, there was “a consensus that there needs to be more civility in our society.”
That’s where Johnson comes in.
“He’s doing, I think, great work in terms of our civil discourse in this country,” Smet said. “So we thought it’d be fantastic to bring him in to town and have him do a show live here and let our community members be a part of the conversation.”
Johnson is a Florida native and got his start at a radio station in Miami. Smet figured that between Johnson’s NPR connection with WAMU and WUSF, and his Florida roots, coming to USF St. Petersburg might appeal to him and his producers.
“It turns out that not only were they attracted to that, but also the fact that we were inviting them to come down in February, where it’s typically pretty cold in D.C.,” Smet said. “The producers joked with us that the pitch was good, but we had them at the notion of being in Florida in February.”
The show will be broadcast live from the USC from 10 a.m. to noon, but audience members must be seated by 9:30 a.m. It is a free show, but with limited seating. An RSVP through eventbrite is necessary.
