The Westside Gazette

The Westside Gazette is a newspaper based in Broward County, Florida. It was established to serve an African American audience and is the oldest African-American newspaper in the region.[1]

History

Levi Henry established the Westside Gazette in 1971, reportedly with "$158 and [his] good name".[2] Henry, who began his career selling ads for radio station WRBD his contacts to entice advertisers to his new paper.[1] The paper has broken several stories in South Florida's African-American community, including a 1990 incident in which longtime Fort Lauderdale Mayor Bob Cox told fourth-grade students that in order to be mayor, one had to be "free, white and 21".[2]

A weekly paper, The Westside Gazette is now owned by Levi Henry's son, Bobby Henry. Henry's wife, Bertha Henry, was the Chief Executive of Broward County, Florida (County Administrator) for over a decade. Circulation of the newspaper increased from 10,000 copies in 1971 to 70,000 copies in 2001.[2] PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor interned at the paper when she was in high school.^[citation needed]

Competing African-American newspapers have alleged that The Westside Gazette inflates circulation numbers.[3][4]

References

1. Bothel, Todd L. (2015). Legendary Locals of Fort Lauderdale. Arcadia Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4671-0220-9. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
2. Olmeda, Rafael A. (19 February 2001). "'WESTSIDE GAZETTE' IS A FAMILY TRADITION". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
3. Jones, Elgin (Sep 30 – Oct 6, 2005). "Report Claims: Westside Gazette Outlandishly Inflated Circulation Numbers". Broward Times. No. 39. ProQuest 367827676. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
4. Norman, Bob (April 27, 2006). "Oh, Henrys". New Times Broward-Palm Beach.