Florida Today
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2013) |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Editor | Mara Bellaby |
| Headquarters | 1005 Viera Blvd. Viera, FL 32955 |
| Circulation | Daily: 54,021 Sunday: 89,328[1] |
| ISSN | 1051-8304 |
| Website | floridatoday |
Florida Today is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County, Florida. The Gannett corporation started the paper in 1966.[2]
In addition to its regular daily publication, Florida Today publishes three weekly community newspapers which are tailored for the North, South and Central areas within Brevard County. Average daily circulation ($1.25/issue) of the main publication is 54,021, with Sunday circulation ($3.50/issue) 89,328 (2013).[3][1] Circulation of the paper tends to be higher in the winter, lower in summer.
History
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Gannett's Florida Today, initially simply TODAY, was built at the Cocoa Tribune, to compete with the regional and dominant Orlando Sentinel and the statewide Miami Herald. When Gannett (Gannett Florida) acquired the Cocoa newspaper, it also acquired the Titusville Star-Advocate in the county seat to the north, and the tabloid weekly Eau Gallie Courier, the latter published from the Cocoa facility. They acquired the Melbourne Daily Times in 1970.
In order to guarantee advertisers a minimum circulation, Gannett delivered papers at no cost to all residences in Brevard County for the first two weeks of the newspaper's life; publication began on March 21, 1966. It continued this free circulation promotion to specific parts of the county until its circulation met the minimum set for the advertisers.
Both the Titusville and Melbourne papers maintained their independence and continued to be printed at each publication's own facility.
Teen section
A teen section The Verge was "by, for and about teens." The section was composed by 40 students, as long as they were under 20 (most were in local high schools, but a few attended the local Brevard Community College). The section had regular articles in rotation such as Generation Gaps, where teens and someone from an earlier generation (parent, teacher, coach, etc.) wrote opposing views to a topic. The section began expanding into other parts of the paper and throughout the week. It was originally published on the back of Sunday's People section.
At a 2006 conference, The Verge won two national awards: First and Second Place for Best News Story. In May 2007, it was announced that The Verge would be integrated with the paper, rather than have its own section.
Operations
 | This section needs to be updated. (July 2016) |
Florida Today owned the weekly Central Florida Future, originally the University of Central Florida school newspaper along with www.centralfloridafuture.com. It was distributed free of charge on campus as well as through several nearby businesses. The Future was shut down in July 2016.
The paper publishes annual business segment magazine directories including Health Source, a medical provider directory and Legal Source, a directory of legal service providers. The newspaper website[4] along with local news, includes coverage of space, travel, health, entertainment, weather, sports and coverage of youth sports.
Recognition
The paper was cited in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 as a Gold Medal Newspaper for overall excellence by Gannett Co.[5]
Editors
- Terry Eberle (2002 - 2008)
- Bob Stover (2008 – 2014)
- Bob Gabordi (2015-2019)
- Mara Bellaby (since March 2019)
Notable employees
Footnotes
- ^ a b "Gannett Investor Relations -". Archived from the original on 2014-04-26.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Trusted Media Analyses & Audits - Alliance for Audited Media - AAM".
- ^ "Brevard County and central Florida News - floridatoday.com".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-16. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Official website
- Today's Florida Today front page at the Freedom Forum website
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