Bradenton Herald newspaper began in 1922, and its mission holds true 100 years later
Funny how some things stay the same.
One hundred years ago, Americans were flocking to Florida having emerged from a pandemic with more free time and money and transportation options and a desire for beachside real estate.
Developers were kings, and the Sunshine State was transformed from an agricultural area to a residential and tourist mecca.
Sound familiar?
It’s at that point in history — Sept. 15, 1922 to be exact — that what would eventually be the Bradenton Herald printed its first edition.
The Evening Herald debuted with a front page full of news on foreign wars, a county commission meeting on road improvement, new buildings coming to downtown Manatee Avenue, and — my personal favorite — a headline that reads, “ATTACKS BY COWS NEW DANGER TO AIRPLANES.” (That was when plane wings could be damaged by curious cows nosing around a field in Wales, apparently.)
On the second page was an introduction to the new newspaper, a merging of two publications. The introduction includes words that still hold true a century later.
As a new executive editor and a newcomer to the area, I’m sharing those words on our 100th birthday to make it clear that I am here to help the newsroom continue that mission.
As much as recent years have felt “unprecedented,” it is par for the course for the Herald, where local journalists have covered decade after decade of America’s growth and disruption and progress — not to mention the occasional odd animal story.
Here’s is what the proud new owners printed on that fateful Friday:
“With this issue The Evening Herald makes its bow to the people of the sister cities of the Manatee river — Bradenton, Palmetto and Manatee — and to the people of Manatee county in general. …
“It is not a child of chance, but born in the belief that Bradentown, the city of its publication, and the other cities and towns of this section have grown to a point where there is a demand — and a field — for a daily newspaper. …
“It is not intended that The Herald shall follow the growth of this section (region), but anticipate that growth, and lead the way, to a greater city in population and in wealth, and a section incomparably greater in both wealth and population.
“The mission of The Herald shall be to aid in that building of a greater town and countryside. …
“The Evening Herald will serve neither clique nor faction nor special interest. It will work with every civic organization for general betterment; with every governmental body for good government. It will represent no special part of the community, but will be operated for all of the Land of Manatee. …
“To the people of this section we will say: The Evening Herald is your newspaper.”
And to the people of Manatee County, we say, the Bradenton Herald is yours.
Here’s to another 100 years.
This is just the beginning of a yearlong celebration, and we want to hear suggestions on what you’d like to see from Bradenton’s history and how we can mark the occasion. Email us at editor@bradenton.com.
