 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Gannett |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Fort Walton Beach, Florida United States |
| Circulation | 10,664[1] |
| Website | nwfdailynews |
TheNorthwest Florida Daily News is a dailynewspaper published inFort Walton Beach, Florida. It was founded in 1946 and is owned byGannett.[2]
A group of local businessmen met on January 9, 1946, to organize a weekly newspaper forOkaloosa County's southern region. TheOkaloosa News-Journal, published at the county seat ofCrestview at the northern end of the county for many decades, carried early accounts of the developing region. As the southern communities of Fort Walton,Destin,Shalimar,Cinco Bayou,Mary Esther,Ocean City,Wright,Valparaiso andNiceville expanded, so did the need for local coverage. The civic leaders gathered at a downtownFort Walton bar which had the only available meeting room. Present were Clyde Meigs, Fred McCaully, Paul Roberts, Ray Folmar, R.L. Odom, Howard Gill, L. Ferrin, George Klosterman, Lee Courter, Frank Bizelle, Braden Ball, W.R. Cummings, DeWitt Lamb (the first editor), Andy Anderson, Leon Bishop, Toopey Work, Bill Williams and Bill Folb.[3]
Perry Publications, a group of about 30 papers, began publication of thePlayground News February 7, 1946. The first issue contained 24 pages, about 65 percent of which was paid display advertising. From the mid-1960s, the newspaper's offices and printing plant were on Eglin Parkway in downtown Fort Walton Beach. The paper was sold to Freedom Newspapers, Inc., nowFreedom Communications, on July 1, 1969.[4] On August 22, 1975, the newspaper printed the edition for the first time at a new plant and offices at 200 N.W. Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach,[5] which would remain the base of operations through the fall of 2011.
In 2012, Freedom sold its Florida and North Carolina papers toHalifax Media Group. In 2015, Halifax was acquired byNew Media Investment Group.[6]
Over its history, the paper has gone by three names:
Due to the close ties between the Fort Walton Beach community andEglin Air Force Base, thePlayground/Northwest Florida News supplanted theOkaloosa News-Journal, published inCrestview, Florida, as the county paper of record.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote a sports column for theNorthwest Florida Daily News (then called thePlayground News) while stationed at Eglin Air Force Base. Thompson landed the job in early February 1957. Hired by Publisher Wayne Bell, Thompson wrote under the pseudonyms Thorne Stockton and Cubley Cohn.[8]
Subsidiaries include theEglin Dispatch and theHurlburt Warrior.[citation needed]
Last Updated: January 3rd, 2013
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