The ''Northwest Florida Daily News'' is a daily

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, spor ...

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 Are ...

. 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 Okaloosa County is located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. 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 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 i ...

, 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. 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. 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 fami ...

. 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 9 ...

, 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 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''.

References

External links

''Northwest Florida Daily News'' official site

''Northwest Florida Daily News'' official mobile site

Freedom Communications subsidiary profile * {{Gannett Newspapers published in Florida Newspapers established in 1946 Gannett publications Okaloosa County, Florida 1946 establishments in Florida Fort Walton Beach, Florida Daily newspapers published in the United States