Pensacola News Journal
Encyclopedia
The Pensacola News Journal is a daily morning newspaper
serving Escambia
and Santa Rosa
counties in Florida. It is Northwest Florida
's most widely-read daily.
The News Journal is owned by Gannett Co., a national media holding company that owns newspapers such as USA TODAY
and the Arizona Republic, among others.
The two dailies competed fiercely, each driving the other to edge of bankruptcy in the struggle to be recognised as Pensacola's top daily newspaper. By 1922, the Journal was in dire financial trouble, and was eventually purchased by New York
businessman John Holliday Perry, who at about the same time also acquired papers in Jacksonville
and Panama City
. Two years later, Perry bought the Daily News and merged the two newspapers' operations. For the next six decades, the Pensacola Journal continued to appear mornings and the Pensacola News evenings, with a combined Sunday edition as the Pensacola News Journal.
John H. Perry developed the News Journal into an extremely popular and successful newspaper. By the early 1950s, the News Journal had developed into one of the most modern and efficient newspaper operations in the Southeast. Under the leadership of Perry's son, John Holliday Perry, Jr., who succeeded his father in 1955, the News Journal continued to expand. Perry Publications, Inc., eventually owned 28 newspapers throughout Florida.
On July 1, 1969, Perry Publications chairman and president John H. Perry, Jr. announced that the company had sold the two papers to Gannett Co., Inc., then based in Rochester, N.Y., for $15.5 million.
Like many U.S. evening newspapers in the post-war period, the News sustained declining circulation and was folded into the Journal in 1985.
The paper gained nationwide notoriety in 1997 and 1998 with a series of investigative reports about the Brownsville Revival
at the Brownsville Assembly of God
. The paper had initially written glowing reports about the revival, but after former members told the paper that all was not as it appeared, the News Journal began a four-month investigation that revealed the revival had been "well planned and orchestrated" from the very start. It also called many of the claims made by the church's leaders into question, and delved heavily into the church's finances. The series won many awards, but was roundly criticized by evangelicals throughout the country as a "hit piece" against the church and the meetings. The church answered the paper's allegations by publishing a two-page spread entitled, "The Facts of The Brownsville Revival."
As of 2004, the News Journal had a daily circulation of 63,351 and a Sunday circulation of 80,954.
After over a century, the production departments will be moved to Mobile, Ala., June 2, 2009.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
serving Escambia
Escambia County, Florida
Escambia County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Florida. The 2010 population was 297,619. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 296,772. Its county seat is Pensacola.- History :...
and Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa County, Florida
Santa Rosa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 117,743, while a July 1, 2005, estimate placed the population at 143,105, an 18% increase making it the 84th fastest growing county in the United States between 2000 and 2005. ...
counties in Florida. It is Northwest Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
's most widely-read daily.
The News Journal is owned by Gannett Co., a national media holding company that owns newspapers such as USA TODAY
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and the Arizona Republic, among others.
History
The heritage of the News Journal can be traced back to 1889, when a group of Pensacola businessmen founded the Pensacola Daily News. The Daily News printed its first issue on 5 March 1889, with an initial circulation of 2,500 copies. Then, in March 1897, a Pensacolian named M. Loftin founded a newsweekly, the Pensacola Journal. The Journal converted to a daily format a year later.The two dailies competed fiercely, each driving the other to edge of bankruptcy in the struggle to be recognised as Pensacola's top daily newspaper. By 1922, the Journal was in dire financial trouble, and was eventually purchased by New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
businessman John Holliday Perry, who at about the same time also acquired papers in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
and Panama City
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
. Two years later, Perry bought the Daily News and merged the two newspapers' operations. For the next six decades, the Pensacola Journal continued to appear mornings and the Pensacola News evenings, with a combined Sunday edition as the Pensacola News Journal.
John H. Perry developed the News Journal into an extremely popular and successful newspaper. By the early 1950s, the News Journal had developed into one of the most modern and efficient newspaper operations in the Southeast. Under the leadership of Perry's son, John Holliday Perry, Jr., who succeeded his father in 1955, the News Journal continued to expand. Perry Publications, Inc., eventually owned 28 newspapers throughout Florida.
On July 1, 1969, Perry Publications chairman and president John H. Perry, Jr. announced that the company had sold the two papers to Gannett Co., Inc., then based in Rochester, N.Y., for $15.5 million.
Like many U.S. evening newspapers in the post-war period, the News sustained declining circulation and was folded into the Journal in 1985.
The paper gained nationwide notoriety in 1997 and 1998 with a series of investigative reports about the Brownsville Revival
Brownsville Revival
The Brownsville Revival was a widely-reported religious phenomenon that began within the Pentecostal movement on Father's Day June 18, 1995 at Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida...
at the Brownsville Assembly of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
. The paper had initially written glowing reports about the revival, but after former members told the paper that all was not as it appeared, the News Journal began a four-month investigation that revealed the revival had been "well planned and orchestrated" from the very start. It also called many of the claims made by the church's leaders into question, and delved heavily into the church's finances. The series won many awards, but was roundly criticized by evangelicals throughout the country as a "hit piece" against the church and the meetings. The church answered the paper's allegations by publishing a two-page spread entitled, "The Facts of The Brownsville Revival."
As of 2004, the News Journal had a daily circulation of 63,351 and a Sunday circulation of 80,954.
After over a century, the production departments will be moved to Mobile, Ala., June 2, 2009.
External links
- Official site
- Official mobile site
- Brownsville Revival: The Money and the Myths (archive of series on Brownsville Revival)
- Pastors orchestrated first revival (PNJ article at RickRoss.com)
- John H. Perry, Jr. bio from Florida Newspaper Hall of Fame (Fla. Press Assn.)
- John H. Perry, Jr. bio from Perry Institute for Marine Science
- John H. Perry, Jr. obit (d. May 2006)
- Gannett subsidiary profile of the Pensacola News Journal