The ''Siesta Key Observer'' (previously known as the ''Pelican Press'') is an American weekly

free newspaper Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at ...

serving

Siesta Key, Florida Siesta Key is a barrier island off the southwest coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located between Roberts Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A portion of it lies within the city boundary of Sarasota, but the majority of the key is a census-designa ...

. Founded in 1971 by John and Elizabeth Davidson, it is now a part of a family of twelve community and business newspapers published by

Observer Media Group Observer Media Group, Inc. is a media company that publishes local newspapers and magazines in the U.S. state of Florida. The company publishes twelve newspapers, three quarterly magazines and maintains six news websites. History Observer Medi ...

History

In March 1971, John and Elizabeth Davidson began publishing a six-page paper called ''The Key News to the Key''. The Davidsons later renamed the paper to the ''Siesta Key Pelican''. The name of the publication changed again to ''Pelican Press''. In 1998 the paper was purchased by

Journal Media Group Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into ...

, based in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, joining a large publication family with interests in other states. In 2011, Journal Media Group sold ''Pelican Press'' to Sarasota-based

(OMG). In 2015, OMG changed the name to the ''Siesta Key Observer''. In 2016, Emily Walsh was named

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of ''Siesta Key Observer''.

References

External links

* Newspapers published in Florida Newspapers established in 1971 Sarasota, Florida 1971 establishments in Florida Weekly newspapers published in the United States {{Florida-newspaper-stub