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Primary Content

Benjamin Payne

Benjamin Payne
Savannah Reporter
News Reporter

Benjamin is the Savannah-based reporter for GPB, where he covers Coastal Georgia.

Prior to coming to Savannah, he freelanced in Bellingham, Washington, for public media outlets including NPR, Marketplace, and PRX. Previously, Benjamin hosted Morning Edition for WVIK, his hometown NPR member station in Rock Island, Ill. Before that, he served a news internship with NPR member station WBEZ in Chicago.

Benjamin is a graduate of the University of Nevada-Reno's journalism master's program, and earned his undergraduate degree in journalism from Augustana College in Rock Island.

Bottom Content

News Stories by Benjamin Payne

Savannah activist and volunteer Jaydon Grant, right, poses for a photo with Fight Dirty Tybee organizer Tim Arnold during a beach cleanup on Tybee Island after this year's Orange Crush gathering.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

‘Orange Crush is not going away’: Activist says more Tybee Island policing won't end festival

With a heavier police presence than in 2023, the Tybee Island Police Department made more arrests at this year's Orange Crush gathering.

April 30, 2024
|
By:
  • Benjamin Payne
Ninth-grader Katie Bolton of Screven County simulates bag-valve-mask ventilation on a medical mannequin at Mercer University School of Medicine's Savannah campus, as instructor Joe Slattery guides her through the technique.

Tagged as: 

  • Education

‘Georgia needs you’: Amid doctor shortage, Savannah med school workshop aims to inspire rural teens

Mercer University School of Medicine is hoping to boost recruitment of rural Georgians, whose hometowns often lack access to primary care providers.

April 25, 2024
|
By:
  • Benjamin Payne
Welcome sign to Tybee Island, with a sea turtle sculpture above.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

‘This bill is not designed to stop Orange Crush’: Lawmaker shares outlook on Tybee Island gathering

Senate Bill 443 empowers local governments to seek financial damages from unpermitted event organizers.

April 19, 2024
|
By:
  • Benjamin Payne
A trolley tour bus drives down River Street in downtown Savannah.

Tagged as: 

  • Business

Savannah trolley tour ordinance in the works, as downtown residents complain of noise pollution

More than 100 trolley tour buses would undergo equipment modifications to limit noise spillover.

April 16, 2024
|
By:
  • Benjamin Payne
Susie King Taylor Center for Jubilee co-founder Patt Gunn, second from right, poses at Taylor Square in downtown Savannah during a signage unveiling ceremony on Feb. 10, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • History

Liberty County honors Georgia hero Susie King Taylor, 162 years after her escape from slavery

April 13 marks the anniversary of Susie King Taylor's escape from slavery in 1862 during the Civil War. Liberty County is marking the event Saturday with a celebration in Taylor's Coastal Georgia hometown of Midway.

April 12, 2024
|
By:
  • Pamela Kirkland and
  • Benjamin Payne
  • Load More

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