Orlando Sentinel
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Tribune Company |
| Publisher | Kathleen Waltz |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Headquarters | 633 North Orange Avenue Orlando, Florida 32801  United States |
| Circulation | 226,854 Daily 335,689 Sunday[1] |
| ISSN | 0744-6055 |
| Website | orlandosentinel.com |
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently in its 131st year of publication. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel's president and publisher is Kathleen Waltz.
History
From the early 1930s to 1965, the newspaper was owned and operated by Martin Andersen.
Publishing History of the Orlando Sentinel and its predecessors:[2]
- Orlando Reporter: 1892 - 1903? (merged with Evening Star to form Evening Reporter-Star)
- Evening Star: January - December 1903? (merged with Orlando Reporter to form Evening Reporter-Star)
- Evening Reporter-Star: 1904? - March 1947 (continues Orlando Reporter and Evening Star; continued by Orlando Evening Star)
- Orlando Evening Star: April 1947 - 1973 (continues Evening Reporter-Star; merged with Orlando Morning Sentinel to form the Orlando Sentinel-Star)
- Orlando Morning Sentinel: 1913 - 1973 (title varies: Daily Sentinel; Morning Sentinel; merged with Orlando Evening Star to form the Orlando Sentinel-Star)
- Orlando Sentinel-Star: 1974 - April 25, 1982 (continues Orlando Morning Sentinel and Orlando Evening Star; continued by Orlando Sentinel)
- Orlando Sentinel: April 26, 1982 - present (continues Orlando Sentinel-Star)
Controversies
In February 2004, Sentinel reporter Doris Bloodsworth resigned after errors and other problems were uncovered in the newspaper's controversial series on the effects of the prescription drug OxyContin. [3] Two editors also were reassigned. Sentinel Managing Editor Elaine Kramer resigned in May 2004.
The five-day, front-page series on the drug OxyContin touched off state and federal hearings on the safety of the drug. The newspaper later found that its series falsely portrayed "accidental addict" David Rokisky, 36, a former Albuquerque, New Mexico police officer. Before his use of OxyContin, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1999. [4]
Further, autopsies showed two-thirds of the "oxycontin victims" identified in the series were also taking other drugs at the time of their death. The paper apologized for having "created the misleading impression that most oxycodone overdoses resulted from patients' taking the drug to relieve pain from medical conditions."
Another embarrassing admission came in June 2004. Two years after a 2002 Bloodsworth investigation of Walid Arkeh, a Jordanian who was said to have warned federal agents about the September 11 terrorist attacks, the paper admitted the stories were wrong. Sentinel ombud Manning Pynn wrote in a column, "The primary problem here was flawed reporting and writing. Secondarily, the editing was lax." [5]
Recent staff changes
Changes in the media industry, and The Sentinel's parent company in particular, have brought a number of recent staff cuts and other reductions at the paper.
In November 2004, citing "difficult economic times," Publisher Kathy Waltz announced the paper was eliminating 11 open positions and laying off nine employees.[6]
In November 2005, Waltz announced a "limited number" of staff cuts.[7]
In August 2006, The Sentinel and other Tribune papers announced they will outsource circulation customer service calls to a U.S.-based company with operations in the Philippines, resulting in more layoffs.[8]
In May 2007, Editor Charlotte Hall announced a "major step in transforming our newsroom," which includes laying off "about two dozen positions." [9] Among the changes, the elimination of stock tables Tuesday through Friday and two features sections. Further, a number of longtime employees left the paper or were laid off. Some who left were:
- Assistant Managing Editor Sean Holton, a 20-year veteran of the paper.
- Michael Cabbage, who led the paper's aero-space coverage, to become a public information officer for NASA.
- Columnist Tammy L. Carter, who left for New Orleans.
- Writer Bill Buchalter, a Florida Sports Hall of Fame inductee who had worked at the paper since 1967.[10]
Pulitzer Prizes
- 1988: editorial writing, Jane Healy, "for her series of editorials protesting overdevelopment of Florida's Orange County."
- 1993: investigative reporting, Jeff Brazil and Steve Berry, "for exposing the unjust seizure of millions of dollars from motorists - most of them minorities – by a sheriff's drug squad."
- 2000: editorial writing, John C. Bersia, "for his passionate editorial campaign attacking predatory lending practices in the state, which prompted changes in local lending regulations."
References
- ^ "2007 Top 100 Daily Newspapers in the U.S. by Circulation" (PDF). BurrellesLuce. 2007-03-31. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ See Florida Newspapers - a list of Florida newspapers for which indexes or full-text are available at the UCF Library.
- ^ Orlando Sentinel reporter resigns, two editors reassigned in OxyContin story fallout, Orlando Business Journal, February 27, 2004
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/0906/048_print.html "Painful Correction," Forbes magazine article, September 4, 2004
- ^ Manning Penn article, Orlando Sentinel
- ^ Poynter Institute Online Forums
- ^ Poynter Institute Forums
- ^ Poynter Institute Forums
- ^ Poynter Institute Forums
- ^ "Buchalter connected with people," Orlando Sentinel article, June 9, 2007
External links
.svg){kind=logo}
  | This article about a Florida newspaper is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |