WUSF Tampa Hires Two Journalists

The University of South Florida’s noncommercial WUSF Tampa, Fla. (DMA 11) has added Denise White and Hetal Gandhi to host and develop a new show about the school, University Beat.

The new show launched on Sunday, Feb. 14, 6:30 p.m., with USF President Judy Genshaft as the first interviewed guest to talk about the direction of the University. Other segments during the first episode covered students volunteering during Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the debate about concealed weapons on college campuses, the coming USF downtown medical complex and the successful USF women’s basketball team.

University Beat will air Sunday evenings and highlight a wide range of developments connected with USF, such as student academic programs, faculty research projects, economic development initiatives and the growing influence of USF around the region and the world.

Show host Denise White is well-known in the Tampa Bay Region, anchoring the news at Fox affiliate WTVT Tampa, where she had a 25-year career.

Show correspondent Hetal Gandhi has worked at both local and national television outlets, including WTVT and WTSP, the market’s CBS affiliate.  She also helped launch the national investigative news program Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson for Sinclair Broadcast Group.

WUSF TV and Mark Schreiner already produce brief University Beat radio and TV segments about USF that air during the week. This new program will expand that brand into a weekly half-hour program with in-studio interviews and fully produced on-site segments.

“University Beat is much more than interviews,” said William McQueen, producer of the show. “This will have a news magazine format, with multiple reports on a variety of subjects around the University of South Florida.”