Forerunners to the current newspaper were
The St Andrews Bay News, founded in 1915, published by Frank Stitzer and edited by G.M. West. This paper was a daily, except Sunday. A second paper, also publishing daily except Sunday, was the
Panama City Herald, founded in 1935 under the direction of John H. Perry with editorship by Charles T. White. In 1937, the two papers merged as
The News Herald, printing daily except Sunday by Bay County Publishers. Later this was revised to daily except Saturday. In 1952, the papers split into
The News, publishing seven days a week, and
The Herald, publishing daily except Saturday. In 1970
The News Herald reunited as a seven-day a week daily under Freedom Newspapers.
The News Herald was owned by
Freedom Communications until 2012, when Freedom sold its Florida and North Carolina papers to
Halifax Media Group. In 2015, Halifax was acquired by
New Media Investment Group. The publication was awarded the 1962
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service "for its three-year campaign against entrenched power and corruption, with resultant reforms in Panama City and
Bay County." ==References==