Gabriella Paul
ReporterI tell stories about living paycheck to paycheck for public radio at WUSF News. I’m also a corps member of Report For America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms.
I got my start in radio at WUFT in Gainesville, where I worked as a digital producer and taught digital production at the University of Florida. Also my alma mater, I graduated from UF with a degree in journalism and a minor in history. While there, I spent many hours in the archives and was later asked to co-author a presidential task force report on the university’s founding and racial legacies.
Outside of the newsroom (and the archives), you can find me exploring the nearest wildlife trail, beach or brewery. I grew up playing tennis, golf and beach volleyball. But I love trying new things, which right now looks like learning salsa and kickboxing.
I joined the team in June of 2022 and returned to my hometown of Tampa, where I report on a growing list of issues that working people face today: rent spikes, stagnant wages, food and job insecurity, and systemic inequities.
My goal is to invite members of the community who are living paycheck to paycheck to drive my reporting. It matters to me that my coverage resonates with those living these experiences.
For story ideas and news tips, you can reach me at gabriellamae@wusf.org or 813-419-3148.
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In the Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, inflation is only slightly cooler than the national rate. Unemployment is lower, too. -
Un nuevo informe publicado por la Population Reference Bureau revela que Florida restringe el acceso al control de natalidad, ubicándose junto a estados como Kansas, Mississippi y Alabama. -
Homeowners in Florida are being quietly priced out of their communities. People often own their manufactured homes but rent the lot underneath them. -
Floridians who live in manufactured home parks are often older, retired people on fixed incomes who bought property with hopes it would be their “forever home.” Now, lot rents are pricing them out. -
They invested over $30K into home renovations. Then they were forced to pay for water used years agoTodd and Mary Cruikshank moved to Riverview from Wisconsin. The new homeowners soon discovered hidden fees tacked on like water used a decade ago. -
Retiree Judy Schofield moved from Connecticut to a home in Haines City. She took on a part-time job to help keep up with her bills due to rising lot rent. -
Dara Brown was priced out of the home she owns in Riverview after her lot rent jumped from around $400 to about $1,000 a month. She was evicted in April. -
She bought her home with her parents to enjoy the Florida winter. Now she doesn’t have money to liveMelissa Preen moved to Florida with her parents in 2015. After her parents moved back to Ohio, she stayed to take care of the house. But the cost kept increasing to the point where she started donating plasma twice a week to get money to survive. -
A new scorecard published by the Population Reference Bureau finds that Florida restricts access to birth control, ranking alongside states like Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama. -
The family of Palestinian American Sayfollah Musallet, 20, say he was beaten to death while visiting relatives. His family demands the U.S. State Department investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
