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Monday May 12, 2008
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Monday May 12, 2008
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102 Manatee Avenue West Bradenton, FL 34205 941-748-0411 www.Bradenton.com |
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Mission Statement: The Bradenton Herald strives to be the best community newspaper in the United States.
Founded: In 1922, the Bradenton Herald, a weekly that had been in existence since the turn of the century, merged with another weekly, The Manatee River Journal. The result was The Evening Herald, which was published Monday through Saturday until 1926, when the Saturday publication was replaced by a Sunday edition and the name was changed to The Bradenton Herald. The Saturday edition was resumed in 1953. The Bradenton Herald was sold to the R. W. Page Corp. of Columbus, Ga., in 1925 and then to Knight Newspapers, Inc. in 1973. In 1974, Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications merged, and The Bradenton Herald became a Knight Ridder newspaper. In 2006, the Bradenton Herald was one of the newspapers included in the sale of Knight Ridder newspapers to The McClatchy Company.
Distinction: Hometown newspaper of Manatee County since 1928. The Bradenton Herald has mirrored its community's growth -- from the tiny agricultural-and-fishing town of Bradenton to today's bustling, high-growth metropolitan area and sought-after tourist destination -- without losing its small-town charm. The Bradenton Herald competes with three other daily newspapers by offering the best local report available, from breaking news to education coverage and neighborly good news.
Market: A six-day afternoon paper in its early years, the Herald began seven-day publication in 1953 and switched to morning deliveries in 1983. Acquired by the R.W. Page Corp. of Columbus, Ga., in 1925, the Herald became part of the Knight Ridder newspaper company in 1974. In 2006, it joined the McClatchy family. The Herald has expanded its involvement in community activities to sponsor more than 300 events a year. The Herald was honored in 2000 with the Alvah Chapman Award for Superior Business Performance as the top-performing newspaper in Knight Ridder.
Circulation Area: Home delivery covers all of Manatee County, a portion of Hillsborough County and northern Sarasota County. Single copy extends farther into Sarasota County. The area is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the west and the Manatee/Hardee county line I-75 on the east.
Customers: 48% male, 52% female
Site: An 86,400-square-foot building on a 9.2-acre site in downtown Bradenton and a stand-alone Lakewood Ranch office in East Manatee County
Readership: 115,500 daily; 139,300 Sunday
Circulation: 45,427 daily; 50,393 Sunday
Size: 56 pages daily; 112 pages Sunday
Single-Copy Sales: 20% daily; 27.3% Sunday
Production: Offset press (23 years old)
Color: 48 broadsheet pages; 24 full-color pages (all process color)
Newspaper Website: www.Bradenton.com
Average Monthly Page Views/Unique Visitors: 1,811,850 page views; 306,835 unique visitors
Employees: 197 full-time; 17 part-time
Newsroom Staff: One executive editor; one managing editor; one editorial page editor; one multimedia editor; nine assigning editors for features, business, photo, metro, sports and online; 18 reporters/columnists; two features writers; six sports reporters; one presentation editor; 11 universal desk staff; four sports desk staff; one graphic artist; four photographers; one editorial assistant Bureaus: East Manatee newsroom in Lakewood Ranch. The Bradenton Herald shares Washington, D.C., reporter Lesley Clark with The Miami Herald.
Major Awards: In 2006, the Bradenton Herald won almost 80 honors for quality journalism. As of mid-2007, the staff has been recognized for:
Special Publications: Real Estate Guide; Pirates Spring Training Program; Community Events Calendar; Celebrate Bradenton
Well-known Newsroom Personalities: Columnist Vin Mannix; sportswriter/columnist Roger Mooney; opinion page editor David Klement
Community Involvement: The Golden Herald Awards Program, an academic sponsorship, was established by the Bradenton Herald in 1978 to recognize outstanding high school seniors in Manatee County for exemplary service to their schools and community.
Will Fleet, Bradenton Herald president and publisher, board memberships: Manatee Chamber of Commerce, Manatee Economic Development Council, Manatee Community Foundation, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, Lakewood Ranch Community Fund, Manatee Education Foundation
Market: Bradenton is the largest city and county seat of Manatee County, on the south side of Tampa Bay on Florida's West Coast. Beginning with the merger of two small weekly newspapers in 1922, the Herald has prospered in Manatee County, which more than 300,000 people now call home and is among the fastest-growing areas in the United States. The Bradenton Herald has expanded its involvement in community activities to sponsor more than 300 events a year.
Location: Located on Florida's Southwest Coast, just south of Tampa Bay, Florida's Gulf Islands of Anna Maria and Longboat Key and the Greater Bradenton Area are bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and are easily accessible by automobile as well as two major international airports. As one of Florida's beautiful Suncoast communities, Manatee County offers a high quality of life for retirees and families. Bradenton has year-round sunshine, a warm tropical climate and water temperatures averaging in the 80s.
Bradenton City Population: 52,498
Manatee County Population: 273,408
City Households: 93,530
County Households: 127,496
Household Growth Rate: 2.6% annually
Education: 79.8% have high school degrees or higher; 20.5% have bachlor's degrees; 7.3% have graduate or professional degrees
Ethnic Makeup: 71.6% white; 15% African American; 11.3% Hispanic; 3.9% other; 1.7% multiethnic; 0.6% American Indian
Median Age: 45-66
Average Income: $42,185
Median Home Value: $297,000
Average Rent: (two bedrooms) $675 month
Climate: Bradenton has a semitropical to tropical climage; average temperatures in winter, 50 to 70 degrees; spring, 60 to 80 degrees; summer, 80 to 90 degrees; fall, 60 to 70 degrees.
Major Employers/Industries: Beall's; Tropicana; Manatee Port Authority; Sarasota/Bradenton Airport; Manatee Memorial Hospital; Manatee County School District; Wal-Mart; The Home Depot; Lowe's
Major Retailers: Beall's; Wal-Mart, Lowe's, CVS
Higher Learning: University of South Florida; Manatee Technical Institute
Culture: Riverfront Theater; Island Players; Florida West Coast Symphony; The South Florida Museum; The Van Wezel Theater; Asolo Theater; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Marie Selby Botanical Gardens; Mote Marine; Bishop Planetarium
Sports: IMG (Bolletieri) Academies; Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training Camp at McKechie Fied; high school sports among the state's best; NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers; MLB Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Major Annual Events: Celebrate Bradenton, Sarasota Medieval Fair, Sarasota Film Festival, Holiday Boat Parade, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball spring training, DeSoto Heritage Festival, Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Fesitval
Tourist Attractions: Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria Island beaches; shopping; dining; a variety of historical homes, churches and other sites; Sarasota Polo Club
Recreation: Beach, golf, tennis, parks, biking, kayaking, boating, fishing, nature tours
Nightlife: Minutes away from all the hot spots on the west coast of Florida, Bradenton's beaches offer the most nightlife with a variety of dining and entertainment options.
Claim to Fame: White sandy beaches
Famous Citizens: Golf pro Paul Azinger; tennis pros Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova; musician Gregg Allman; Oakland Raiders veteran Henry Lawrence; ESPN sports broadcaster Dick Vitale; tennis pro Nick Bolleteri; baseball coach Hal McRae; and Tom Armstrong, creator of the comic strip "Marvin"
Area Information:
Manatee Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 321
Bradenton, FL 34206
941-748-3411
www.ManateeChamber.com
Recent Issues of the Newspaper:
The Bradenton Herald's customer service department at 941-748-0411, ext. 5380
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