The story of Historic City News starts in St Augustine, Florida with the registration of the HistoricCity.com domain which was completed on March 18, 2000.
The Historic City newsletter began as a weekly e-mail and was not supported by a public-facing website. We originally focused on people of interest in public service and people of prominence in our community who have an impact on our daily lives. Largely, we still primarily report on business and government leaders in St Augustine and St Johns County.
- On May 14, 2008, the privately-held company incorporated as Historic City Companies Inc. Our mission statement has not changed, “It is the mission of Historic City News to hold public figures accountable to the public.”
- We editorially advocate for open meetings, open records, and transparency in our government and we are the first to report on fraud, waste, and abuse whenever it is discovered. Citizen journalists including feature writers, photojournalists, and other contributors, are empowered to reach our local audience of over 37,000 daily readers; and thousands more on our social media websites as well as our news domain, historiccity.com.
- After more than 20-years service as the eyes and ears of the public, our editor-in-chief, Michael Gold, announced his retirement effective December 31, 2020. As part of their planned giving, the Gold family donated Historic City News to the local 501(c)3 non-profit charity, Ladies Memorial Association of St Augustine Inc.
- Gold, a St Augustine native, has more than 50-years involvement in our community and is considered an expert in local politics. He continues to be a champion of the free press; contributing from time-to-time to the editorial content of Historic City News from a conservative, non-sugar-coated point-of-view. Today’s volunteer, intern, and hired news journalists have decades of writing experience in St Johns County.
Over the past 25-years, our publication has developed into an interactive platform that is read by some of the area’s most influential citizens. Virtually all local political candidates have recognized our audience as the most organized and engaged base of politically active, educated, and well-informed super-voters in St Johns County.
Each election year, our volunteer Editorial Review Board, most of whom have themselves previously served on municipal and county boards, makes political endorsements in local races. The accuracy of recommendations from our board is unrivaled, especially in predicting successful newcomers to political office. Before you vote, you should always hear what Historic City News has to say.
historiccity.com Our 24-hour news portal is the repository for all of our news articles, editorials, and photo journal reports. It contains the full text of every article as well as an online antecedent history that goes back to 2008. This is the place to go to learn more from our complete archives.
historiccitynews.com Our gateway to Facebook and all of the social media features available. This is the place to go to post remarks about breaking news stories, add your opinions, or visit our photo galleries; compiled from events happening in and around St Augustine, St Johns County, and the Beaches.
twitter.com/historiccity All the news that fits in 140 characters — including the URL. This is the place for “on-the-go” readers, who also want to be “in the know” throughout the day. Follow us on Twitter and you’ll be notified as soon as each article is posted on our website. If the topic is of interest, just click the embedded link to be taken to the full story with pictures.
We encourage readers to click our sponsor’s advertising and please trade with our advertisers, when possible. Their generous financial contributions keep Historic City News free from subscription fees.
If you want to support a free press in St Augustine, contact us about low-cost publicity for your business or service. There is no more economical way to get your message in front of tens of thousands of potential new customers every day.
Updated 9/18/202`