Tony Silvia

Dr. Tony Silvia is a journalist, author, and educator with a career spanning broadcast news, academia, and public discourse. Silvia's professional background is in television news, having worked as a consumer reporter and news anchor at various television stations in local markets and as a correspondent for CNN, based in Atlanta. He began in radio at age 16 and has worked in broadcasting in the United States and England. Silvia has covered stories at the U.S. Supreme Court, Congress, and the White House, and has produced stories broadcast on PBS affiliates as well as for the NBC-owned station in San Diego, KNSD.

Prior to joining the University of South Florida St. Petersburg's Department of Journalism and Media Studies as its director, Silvia served as chair of the University of Rhode Island's Department of Journalism, director of the public relations studies program, and coordinator of internships. He produced a series of media issues programs for PBS and worked as a correspondent for CNN while completing a faculty fellowship with the network. His work for CNN's science-technology features unit was recognized nationally by an award from the Broadcast Education Association. Silvia has also received three Emmy Award nominations and an Associated Press Award for best documentary.

Silvia is professor emeritus of journalism and digital communication at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in communication ethics, sports journalism, advanced reporting, and race, gender and class in the media. Silvia has authored more than two dozen articles published in academic and industry journals, and regularly presents lectures and workshops at universities, in newsrooms, and for nonprofit organizations nationwide.

Among his books are "Student Television in America: Channels of Change," "Global News: Perspectives on the Information Age," "Baseball Over the Air: The National Pastime on the Radio and in the Imagination," "Baseball's Father and Son Broadcasters," "Power Performance: Multimedia Storytelling for Journalism and Public Relations," and the biography "Robert Pierpoint: A Life at CBS News." He has also published "King of Blue Eyed Soul," the biography of musician Felix Cavaliere.

Silvia has explored the intersection of disability and journalism in his book "Dyslexia and the Journalist: Battling a Silent Disability," which profiles broadcast journalists who have overcome dyslexia, including Emmy Award winners such as Anderson Cooper, Robyn Curnow, Richard Engel, and Byron Pitts. His edited volume, "Journalism and the Pandemic: Essays on Adaptation and Innovation," analyzes changes in American journalism due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with essays by journalists and industry professionals on topics including technology adoption, public health reporting, diversity in journalism, and implications for the field. Across his career as a reporter, professor, and author, Silvia has contributed to journalism education, media studies, and broadcast news.