Judith Smelser is president and general manager of Central Florida Public Media, previously named WMFE, the only local nonprofit news organization serving the nine-county Central Florida region. She began her journalism career in Washington, D.C. before transitioning to Central Florida in 2004 to join the newsroom at WMFE. Over nearly eight years, she excelled as an award-winning reporter and later as news director. In 2011, she left for Colorado Public Radio, where she held several newsroom leadership roles.
After her time in Colorado, Smelser returned to Orlando and launched Smelser Editing & Consulting, providing consulting and training services to more than 30 public media organizations nationwide. Her journey came full circle when she returned to WMFE, this time as president and general manager.
Since rejoining the organization in 2021, she has led Central Florida Public Media to launch the local discussion show Engage, the local news podcast The Wrap, a new reporting beat covering housing and homelessness, and the Emerging Journalists Fellowship program. In 2024, she spearheaded the rebranding of WMFE to Central Florida Public Media, representing the nonprofit's evolution into a multimedia organization dedicated to serving the local region with trustworthy, independent journalism.
Smelser also collaborated with the Central Florida Foundation and Oviedo Community News to create and host the first-ever Central Florida Local Journalism Ecosystem Summit in 2024. The three-part Summit brought a dozen local news outlets together to form a strategic alliance to collaboratively address the challenges facing local news now and over the next ten years.
In addition to leading Central Florida Public Media, Smelser serves on the Executive Committee of the Board for Florida Public Media, a collaborative organization that supports and enhances the services of 24 public media entities statewide.
In recognition of her contributions, Smelser was honored as one of Orlando Magazine’s 2024 Women of the Year and one of the Orlando Business Journal’s 2024 Most Influential Leaders.
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