South Florida Times

The South Florida Times is a weekly newspaper covering the Black community in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in south Florida.[1] It publishes on Fridays, with a circulation of about 35,000.[2] Robert G. Beatty acquired the paper, then known as the Broward Times, in 2007; the name was changed several months later, along with plans to expand to neighboring counties.[1][3][4] Beatty had a background as legal counsel to the Miami Herald, and has been a featured speaker at local business functions.[5] Bradley Bennett, who served as executive editor, also had a background with the Herald.[6] The paper's stated mission includes in-depth analysis of worldwide events relating to the African diaspora, and making connections to its local community.[1] The paper has partnered with the Miami Herald. The Times' reporting has been picked up by the Herald,[7][8] and has been referenced in the Herald's own reporting.[9][10][11] As of 2010, a journalism professor at the Florida International University partnered with the Times, assigning his students to investigate and report stories for the paper.[12]

Keith Clayborne founded the Broward Times in 1990.[13] It was seen as the voice of younger, educated, "up-and-coming" voices in the local Black community, largely from the Caribbean, as opposed to the older veterans of the civil rights era.[14] In 2000 the paper formed an editorial partnership with the Sun-Sentinel.[13] Clayborne hired a new editor, Utrice Leid, in 2004, in an effort to take the paper "to the next level."[15] At the time, the paper had a circulation of 24,000; hiring Leid reflected an effort to overcome a reputation for over-using unnamed sources. Clayborne, who did not have a background in journalism, had stepped away from his editing duties to run for political office.[15] He was later sued for libel by his opponent, Alcee Hastings.[16]

A publication called the South Florida Times, a monthly 4-color glossy magazine, was founded by Audrey S. Diamond, who was given a lifetime achievement award in 2003. (Unclear whether there is any relation between these publications.)[10] There was also a Democratic publication of the same name in the late 19th century.[17][18][19] There was also an earlier paper called the Broward Times in the 1980s.[20]