Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Provides a searchable database of newspaper pages from 1900-1910 along with information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.  Sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Florida newspapers currently available include; The Champion (Arcadia), Deland News, The Deland Weekly News, The DeSoto County News, The Florida Agriculturalist, Fort Pierce News, Gainesville Daily Sun, The Gainesville Star, Gulf Coast Breeze (Crawfordville), The New Enterprise (Madison), The Pensacola Journal, The Punta Gorda Herald and The St. Lucie County Tribune.

"The Development of the Video Display Terminal: A Two-Part Effort" By Ray Laakaniemi

A conference paper presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Outlines the development of the VDT, which was spearheaded by the Daytona Beach News Journal and Cocoa Today newspapers.

Florida Historical Quarterly
A large number of articles covering topics related to journalism in Florida were published in this journal. From 1908-1924 it was titled “Publications of the Florida Historical Society.”

“Florida Journalism During The Civil War” by Horance G. Davis, Jr.
Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and professor to fulfill the requirements for attaining his Master of Arts degree from University of Florida in 1952.

Florida Digital Newspaper Library

A collaborative project led by the University of Florida Digital Library Center which provides searchable digitized page images of many Florida Newspapers. For more information on the National Digital Newspaper Project and the Florida Digital Newspaper Library go here.

Florida Newspaper Chronology compiled by David Shedden
David Shedden, the Library Director at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, developed this chronology and graciously offered to make it available as part of the Florida Journalism History Project. It is the most extensive and detailed chronology available covering the history of newspapers in Florida during the period from 1783-2000.

“Ink In The Sand: The First 50 Years of the Florida Press Association, 1879-1929” by John Paul Jones
An eight part series originally published in Florida Living Magazine. Jones, the dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism from 1968-1976, provides insight into the newspapers of the period and the people who ran them.

“In Righteous Dissent: A Profile of Southern Reformer Buddy Davis” by Ann Wayne Mikell.
Masters thesis profiling the well-known Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and teacher. Explores “the mutual relationship between Davis’s career as journalist and educator by examining the philosophies and techniques he advocated and the way he went about his work.”

“Scholastic Journalism in the Sunshine State: The History of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, 1946-1996” by Judy Robinson and edited by Julie Dodd
Originally written as a masters thesis and later published. Details the history of the Florida Scholastic Press Association. Note: Full text of preface, introduction, acknowledgements and FSPA history through the early 1950's available here. To purchase the book contact Professor Julie Dodd, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida. Phone: (352) 392-0452 E-mail: jdodd@jou.ufl.edu.

"Territorial Florida Journalism" by James Owen Knauss
Published by the Florida State Historical Society in 1926, this is the primary resource available containing information on early Florida newspapers prior to statehood.

“The Tribune’s First Woman Reporter” by Lucy Fulghum O’Brien
First published in Tampa Bay History, this article was written by Ms. O’Brien and describes her life and her employment with the Tampa Tribune. Made available through the University of South Florida Libraries Digital Collections.

Note: The following resources are restricted access and require a subscription. Check with a local library for access.

19th Century U.S. Newspapers Digital Archive

Florida newspapers include: Florida Gazette, Floridian & Journal, Pensacola Gazette, Pensacola Gazette and Florida Advertiser, Pensacola Gazette and West Florida Advertiser, The Floridian, Floridian & Advocate, The Floridian & Journal, Florida Union.                                                                                      

America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922

Organized into a five part series titled Early American Newspapers. Florida newspapers include: Bradenton Herald and predecessors (Series II and III), East Florida Herald (Series IV), Florida Herald and Southern Democrat (Series V), Floridian (Series II), Floridian & Journal (Series III), Miami Herald and its predecessors (Series III).