Observer Media Group

Last updated

Observer Media Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryOnline and Print media
Founded1995;30 years ago (1995) [1]
FoundersMatt Walsh
Lisa Walsh [2]
Headquarters
Sarasota, Florida
,
United States
Area served
 Southern Florida
Key people
David Beliles, chairman [2]
Matt Walsh, CEO [1]
Number of employees
120 [2]
Website www.yourobserver.com

Observer Media Group, Inc. (OMG) is a media company that publishes local newspapers and magazines in the U.S. state of Florida. The company publishes seven newspapers, nine quarterly magazines and maintains four news websites.

Contents

History

Observer Media Group started when Matt Walsh and Lisa Walsh purchased the Longboat Observer in 1995 from Ralph and Claire Hunter, with the help of Lisa's parents and a small group of other investors. The Hunters had started the Longboat Observer in 1978. [2] [1]

Since then, Observer Media Group established new local newspapers, such as the Sarasota Observer in 2004, and acquired other older newspapers, such as the 100+ year-old West Orange Times in 2014 and Financial News & Daily Record in 2017. [2] [3] [4] OMG maintains journalistic offices in Tampa, Clearwater, Lakeland, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Naples, New Port Richey, Winter Garden, Lakewood Ranch and Port Charlotte. [1] The name was changed to Observer Media Group in 2012 from The Observer Group. [1] [5]

Observer Media acquired Pelican Press from Wisconsin-based Journal Media Group in 2011. [6] [7] Pelican Press serves the Siesta Key area of Florida and in 2013, OMG renamed the paper to Siesta Key Observer to fit its overall branding. [2]

In 2012, The Observer attempted to publish the Palm Coast Observer twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With a circulation of 25,000, OMG abandoned the idea and returned to a Thursday-only publishing schedule. The move, however, saw circulation increase to 30,000. "At first glance it looks like we may have an overall increase in ad revenue. And lower delivery cost," observed CEO Matt Walsh at the time. "In any business manual it is a wonderful thing to increase revenue and reduce cost at the same time." [8] August 1, 2013, saw the launch of the Plant City Times & Observer with an initial run of 15,000 copies, the publication was sold to a group of local investors in December, 2018. [9]

In 2016, Emily Walsh was named publisher of several of OMG's assets, including East County Observer, Longboat Observer, Sarasota Observer, Siesta Key Observer, YourObserver.com, Season magazine and LWR Life magazine. As the daughter of the founders, Emily Walsh has worked most of her career for OMG. [10] Ms. Walsh became president in 2021. [11]

Altogether our newspapers, magazines and websites reach more than 412,400 readers a week. [12]

Publications

As of 2025, Observer Media Group owns seven newspapers (directly or indirectly), nine magazines and four websites in support of the print editions, reaching more than 412,400 readers per week. [2] OMG works with Press Reader the largest digital newsstand, to publish online digital copies of its print material.

NameSince Format FrequencyArea servedPaid or free Circulation WebsiteNotes
Business Observer [13] 1997TabloidWeekly Southwest Florida Paid5,222 https://www.businessobserverfl.com/ Formerly known as Gulf Coast Business Review [2]
East County Observer [14] 1998BroadsheetWeekly Sarasota-Bradenton Free18,161 https://www.yourobserver.com/east-county
Jacksonville Daily Record [15] 1912TabloidDaily Jacksonville Paid4,895 https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/
Longboat Observer [16] 1978BroadsheetWeekly Longboat Key Free10,573 https://www.yourobserver.com/longboat-key First publication owned by OMG
LWR Life [17] 2014MagazineQuarterly Lakewood Ranch Free24,000None, but digital editions available here Partnership with Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc., a land management company [2]
Ormond Beach Observer [18] 2013BroadsheetWeekly Ormond Beach Free6,000 https://www.ormondbeachobserver.com/ The newspaper was sold to the McMillan Group in 2023. [19]
Palm Coast Observer' [20] 2010BroadsheetWeekly Palm Coast Free12,000 https://www.palmcoastobserver.com/ The newspaper was sold to the McMillan Group in 2023. [19]
Plant City Times & Observer [21] 2012TabloidWeekly Plant City Free13,500 https://www.plantcityobserver.com/ Joint venture with Times Publishing Company [9] The paper was sold in 2019 to local ownership. [22]
Port Orange Observer [23] 1987 or 2017TabloidMonthly Port Orange Free2,500 https://www.portorangeobserver.com/ July 13, 2017 edition is called "Volume 1, No. 1" so it may be titled same as a defunct paper [24]
Siesta Key Observer [25] 1969BroadsheetWeekly Siesta Key Free5,520 https://www.yourobserver.com/siesta-key Formerly known as Pelican Press [7]
Season [2] 2000MagazineQuarterly Sarasota area Free53,600None, but digital editions available here
Sarasota Observer [26] 2004BroadsheetWeekly Sarasota Free21,891 https://www.yourobserver.com/sarasota
West Orange Times & Observer [27] 1904BroadsheetWeeklyWestern Orange County Free8,846 https://www.orangeobserver.com/west-orange-times-observer
Southwest Orange Observer [28] 2015BroadsheetWeekly Windermere Free7,240 https://www.orangeobserver.com/windermere-observer
Winter Park-Maitland Observer [29] 1989Tall tabloidWeeklySuburbs of Orlando Free12000 https://www.orangeobserver.com/winter-park-maitland-observer This paper was closed permanently after the May 17, 2019 issue, marking the end of its 30-year run. [30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Company Overview of Observer Media Group, Inc". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Observer Media Group. "About Us". Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Daily Record has new owner". Financial News & Daily Record . January 18, 2017. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Bull, Roger (January 18, 2017). "Financial News & Daily Record sold after 104 years in same family". The Florida Times-Union . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ Braga, Michael (December 27, 2012). "Observer Media Group borrows $2.75 million". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Observer buys the Pelican Press". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . June 10, 2011. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Pelican Press & Pelican Marketplace Change Hands". Community Papers of Florida. July 28, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ Tristam, Pierre (September 25, 2013). "Eighteen Months In, Palm Coast Observer Retrenches Back to Once a Week". Flagler Live. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Plant City Times & Observer to debut Aug. 1". Tampa Bay Times . July 24, 2013. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "New Publisher at Observer Media Group". Cision. July 8, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Emily Walsh named president of Observer Media Group". Your Observer. July 27, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Home". www.observermediagroupinc.com. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Business Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ "East County Observer, The". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Daily Record, The". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Longboat Observer, The". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  17. ↑ "LWR Life - Magazine Advertising Costs". Resources for Entrepreneurs. gaebler.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Ormond Beach Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  19. 1 2 "McMillans acquire Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observers". Observer Local News. August 29, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Palm Coast Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Plant City Times & Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Plant City Observer now 100 percent locally owned". Plant City Observer. January 3, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  23. ↑ "About Port Orange Observer". Chronicling America . Library of Congress. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Ptoo 07 13 17". issuu. July 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Pelican Press". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Sarasota Observer, The". Florida Press Association. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  27. ↑ "West Orange Times & Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Windermere Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Winter Park-Maitland Observer". Florida Press Association. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Winter Park/Maitland Observer says 'good-bye' after 30 years of local news". West Orange Times & Observer. May 16, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
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