West Orlando News Online in Orange County, Florida, has, like many outlets, devoted considerable resources to covering the story of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who says he shot in self-defense after an altercation in their gated community in Sanford, Florida. Keith Longmore, the founder of West Orlando News, has half of his full time staff (two out of four) devoted to the story.
Longmore is an African American running a liberal outlet—in Florida, no less—and he feels that his site’s perspective is one that’s especially lacking in this region. “The media here in Central Florida, there’s always a kind of anti-black tilt to it,” says Longmore. “We think we’re a very important alternative to media in the area.”
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Longmore moved to Florida in 2004 for a job overseeing print sales for Tama Broadcasting, a national African American media chain. He saw a need for hyperlocal news in the Orlando area, and started West Orlando News in 2005, at first as a weekly newspaper. But as the business model for print became harder to sustain, Longmore focused in on web content, and went exclusively digital in 2009. The site covers a wide array of local topics, from Orlando’s schools to reviews of cultural events in the area. The site is also dedicated to covering local politics, and has featured interviews with government officials, as well as analysis of policy and budgetary decisions.
