Brendan Rivers
Special Projects ProducerSpecial Projects Producer Brendan Rivers joined WJCT News in August of 2018 after several years as a reporter and then News Director at Southern Stone Communications, which owns and operates several radio stations in the Daytona Beach area.
Originally from Clifton Park, New York, Brendan moved to Florida in high school. He has a bachelor's degree in music from New College of Florida and an associate's degree in music production and technology from Daytona State College.
Brendan originally planned to pursue a career as a composer, arranger, music producer and recording engineer, but an internship at WGCU, the NPR and PBS member station in Fort Myers, convinced him he belongs in broadcasting and public media.
Brendan is the lead reporter for ADAPT, WJCT’s digital magazine exploring how Northeast Florida is adapting to sea level rise and other effects of climate change. He also hosts the ADAPT podcast.
Brendan's bylines include NPR, The Guardian, InsideClimate News, Grist, Living On Earth, The Miami Herald, The Florida Times-Union and Folio Weekly. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a former fellow with InsideClimate News and Climate Matters in the Newsroom.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.
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On December 8, 1908, a small film production company called Kalem arrives in Jacksonville, officially kicking off the movie business in the River City. Over the next few years, Kalem will revolutionize the film industry… but who were they, and what brought them to Jacksonville? -
Having conquered Jacksonville, Kalem turns its attention to an entirely different battlefield when it begins specializing in Civil War films told from the Southern perspective. But changes in the movie industry and Florida’s rapidly shifting political landscape spell the end — not only for the company itself, but also for Jacksonville’s burgeoning film industry. -
As the story goes, the “last of the Timucua,” a man named Juan Alonso Cabale, died in Cuba in 1767. The details of Cabale’s death are true, but over time they have been fused into a broader false narrative that affects the indigenous people of Florida to this day. -
In 1591, Flemish goldsmith Theodore de Bry and his sons published a book that still shapes how we picture the Timucua to this day. Supposedly its imagery was based on paintings by French painter Jacques LeMoyne, who was stationed at Fort Caroline… but was it really? And how accurate is the picture they present of local indigenous life? -
Stories about an ancient Timucuan town called Ossachite buried beneath the streets of Downtown Jacksonville abound online, but did it actually exist? And does this romantic narrative of a lost city actually obscure the far more interesting indigenous history of Northeast Florida? -
First Coast ConnectThe city asks the Donna Foundation to postpone its annual Mother’s Day 5K; Plant Vogtle is on the verge of providing nuclear power to Jacksonville; Jaguars owner Shad Khan becomes one of the richest owners in the NFL; the Jacksonville Music Experience brings four local artists to the Blue Jay Listening Room. -
First Coast ConnectThe city of Jacksonville is asking the Donna Foundation to postpone its annual Mother’s Day 5K until after the election to avoid the “appearance of improper election influence”; a look at the new poetry book “Buffalo Girl”; Florida Times-Union NewsGuild members continue their fight for local journalism; and the Sleeping Giant festival returns to Sun-Ray Cinema. -
First Coast ConnectA bill limiting abortion to six weeks of pregnancy is on its way to becoming law in Florida; state legislators want to expand the use of renewable natural gas; Jax River Jams; and What’s Good Wednesday. -
First Coast ConnectA nuclear plant in Georgia is on deck to add power to our local grid; local doctors are on the front lines in Ukraine giving life-saving medical training; former President Donald Trump is expected to be arraigned today; and our First Coast Connect Book Club pick for April. -
First Coast ConnectA bill recently signed into law will pump $711 million into affordable housing, but critics say it won’t do enough to help Floridians struggling to pay rent; what you need to know about over-the-counter hearing aids; the Florida Legislature is ignoring a bill that would help protect outdoor workers from extreme heat; and a sports update with analyst Josh Torres.
