 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Fort Walton Beach, Florida United States |
| Circulation | 10,664 [1] |
| Website | nwfdailynews |
The Northwest Florida Daily News is a daily newspaper published in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It was founded in 1946 and is owned by Gannett. [2]
A group of local businessmen met on January 9, 1946, to organize a weekly newspaper for Okaloosa County's southern region. The Okaloosa News-Journal , published at the county seat of Crestview 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 and Niceville expanded, so did the need for local coverage. The civic leaders gathered at a downtown Fort 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 the Playground 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., now Freedom 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 to Halifax Media Group. In 2015, Halifax was acquired by New 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 and Eglin Air Force Base, the Playground/Northwest Florida News supplanted the Okaloosa News-Journal , published in Crestview, Florida, as the county paper of record.
Hunter S. Thompson wrote a sports column for the Northwest Florida Daily News (then called the Playground 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 the Eglin Dispatch and the Hurlburt Warrior.[ citation needed ]
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
Crestview is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Okaloosa County. With an elevation of 235 feet (72 m) above sea level, it is one of the highest points in the state; it receives 65 inches (1,700 mm) of rainfall annually, the second-most of any city in the state of Florida, after Fort Walton Beach with 69 inches.
Fort Walton Beach, often referred to by the initialism FWB, a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is the principal city of the Fort Walton Beach−Crestview−Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Shalimar is a town in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 717 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Valparaiso is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,036. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2018 estimates, the city had a population of 5,195. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about 100 miles (160 km) through five counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, which include Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Panama City Beach. Some south Alabama communities on the coast of Baldwin County, such as Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan embrace the term as well.
State Road 123 is a north–south state highway that bypasses the stretch of State Road 85 through Niceville, Florida. The highway is a more direct route to Fort Walton Beach from points north. With flyover ramps at both intersections of SR 85 now completed, the highway has been widened into a 4-lane divided highway.
Destin Executive Airport, also known as Coleman Kelly Field, is a public use airport owned by and located in Okaloosa County, Florida. The airport is one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of Destin, Florida. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
State Road 85 is a north–south state highway that runs from US 98 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida north to State Route 55 at the Florida/Alabama state line. In its earliest inception, it was just a clayed road over graded sandy soil, and was known early in the twentieth century as the Georgia, Alabama and Florida Highway.
Okaloosa Island is an area on Santa Rosa Island, Florida, United States.
The Choctawhatchee and Northern Railroad was one of many proposed railroad projects that never made it beyond the planning stage, this one in the Florida Panhandle. Chartered in February 1927 "To construct, acquire, maintain, lease, or operate a line of railroad or railroads from a point between Galliver and Crestview on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Okaloosa County, to a point in said county on Choctawhatchee Bay, a distance of approximately 28 mi (45 km)," the line was envisioned as part of a Port Dixie development plan.
Escambia Farms is a rural, unincorporated community in northern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Valparaiso Inn was built in 1924 on the shores of Boggy Bayou in Valparaiso, Florida, by developer James E. Plew. The three-story Spanish stucco structure was patterned after Chicago's famous Edgewater Beach Hotel. It had four wings angled to catch the breeze and provide a panoramic view of Boggy Bayou and Choctawhatchee Bay. It offered 56 guests rooms.
Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, was established in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick I. Eglin, who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 pursuit aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field, Alabama.
Halifax Media Group was an American newspaper company owning more than 30 newspapers in five Southeastern U.S. States. It was founded on March 31, 2010 when a group of investors purchased The Daytona Beach News-Journal from the Davidson family, who had owned it for 82 years. On December 27, 2011, The New York Times Company announced it was selling its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Group. On June 1, 2012, Halifax announced it was acquiring the Florida and North Carolina papers of Freedom Communications. In 2013, Halifax acquired three newspapers from HarborPoint Media: the Daily Commercial of Leesburg, Florida, the South Lake Press in Clermont, Florida and News-Sun of Sebring, Florida. In 2014, Halifax acquired the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Massachusetts. In November 2014, New Media Investment Group announced its acquisition of Halifax. The company was created with the assistance of Stephens Inc.
James E. Plew was a successful Chicago businessman whose early interest in the development of aviation eventually led him to acquire the initial leasehold in 1934 on the Valparaiso, Florida property that would evolve into Eglin Air Force Base.
Okaloosa County School District is a public school district that covers Okaloosa County, Florida. The district has its headquarters in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The current superintendent of schools is Marcus Daniel Chambers.
Florida's 4th House District elects one member of the Florida House of Representatives. The district is represented by Patt Maney. This district is located in the Florida Panhandle, and encompasses part of the Emerald Coast, as well as part of the Crestview metropolitan area. The district covers southern Okaloosa County. The largest city in the district is Crestview. As of the 2010 Census, the district's population is 158,781.
Nancy Margaret Shields Kenaston was a British journalist, and a court reporter at the Nuremberg trials after World War II. In her later years in the United States, she spoke to school and community groups about the trials.
Last Updated: January 3rd, 2013
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