newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
published in
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida. 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 ...
. It was founded in 1946 and is owned by
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.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 Shalimar or Shalamar refers to three historic royal gardens (or Baghs) of the Mughal Empire in South Asia:
* Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India; built in 1619
* Shalimar Gardens, Lahore, Pakistan; a UNESCO World Heritage Site built i ...
Wright
Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...
Niceville
Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay.
The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population for Niceville was 12, ...
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.
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
Freedom Communications, Inc., was an American media conglomerate that operated daily and weekly newspapers, websites and mobile applications, as well as ''Coast Magazine'' and other specialty publications. Headquartered at 625 N. Grand Avenue in ...
, on July 1, 1969. 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, 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
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 famil ...
. In 2015, Halifax was acquired by
New Media Investment Group
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, the ''Playground/Northwest Florida News'' supplanted the '' Okaloosa News-Journal'', published in
Crestview, Florida
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 above sea level, it is one of the h ...
, as the county paper of record.
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author who founded the gonzo journalism movement. He rose to prominence with the publication of '' Hell's Angels'' (1967), a book for which he s ...
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.''Northwest Florida Daily News'', June 16, 1997, p. 1B.
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries include the ''Eglin Dispatch'' and the ''Hurlburt Warrior''.