Today marks our newspaper’s 26th anniversary—a milestone I wasn’t sure we’d ever reach.
From Delusional Dream to Community Voice
When Collier Merrill, Ray Russenberger, Chuck Emiling and I launched what was then the Pensacola Independent Weekly in 1999, our plan was wildly optimistic—perhaps delusional. We thought we’d challenge the Gannett-owned Pensacola News Journal, siphon off some advertising revenue, and eventually sell out for millions.
- Instead, we got something infinitely more challenging: 26 years of bearing witness to this community through triumph and tragedy, and proving that independent journalism—however battered—remains essential to democracy.
The road has been anything but smooth. We’ve weathered nearly every conceivable disaster: 9/11 derailed our region’s economic optimism, hurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Katrina battered the Gulf Coast, the BP oil spill devastated tourism, and economic recessions repeatedly threatened our survival.
- As Collier once told me, “Every week, I would get up to see if the paper’s still out because I didn’t know if you could pull off one more.”
The Cost of Editorial Independence
My insistence on editorial independence simultaneously threatened the paper’s viability and established its credibility. That independence came at a real cost—newsstands raided, office windows smashed, tires slashed. Threats became routine. Some, accustomed to controlling narratives through phone calls and financial pressure, found us an enigma they couldn’t silence.
But this resistance forged our identity and impact. We exposed crooked county land deals that brought down Commissioner W.D. Childers. We challenged the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority and fought relentlessly for the Community Maritime Park when few believed it would happen. Without that park, downtown Pensacola might still be a ghost town.
Our investigative reporting gained nationwide attention, but our true legacy lies in our daily commitment to community journalism—serving as both watchdog and champion for Northwest Florida.
Looking Ahead
I freely acknowledge I made mistakes—pushing too hard, refusing wise advice, choosing confrontation over diplomacy. But these missteps stemmed from passion for justice rather than personal gain.
Today, we face the same challenges confronting all independent media, but if history is any guide, this scrappy publication will continue finding ways to endure and serve. Here’s to 26 years of refusing to back down.
Watching the demise of local print media has been depressing. The consolidation of television media ownership and subsequent rise of populist editorialization has also done a huge disservice to truth and accountability.
Keep up the good work!
It is independent local news sources–and precious few of them are left–that are holding the shards of our democracy together every day.
Thank you for the exhaustive– and what must be exhausting–efforts on a shoestring, Rick. The truth still matters, however battered and dishonored as of late. While I wish there weren’t still such a need for what you and your staff do, there is, so thank goodness you do it.