Nelson Poynter :: essays research papers

Nelson Paul Poynter was the owner of the St. Petersburg Times, in Florida, which for years has enjoyed the reputation as one of the best newspapers in the United States. Poynter was born in 1903 in Sullivan, Ind., where his father owned several newspapers. In 1912, his father, Paul, bought the St. Petersburg Times and turned it into a family business. As a young man, Poynter began gaining experience in the newspaper business. He worked as a reporter, editor, advertising salesman and ad director at different newspapers. In 1947, when Poynter bought controlling interest in the newspaper, the Times began its rise toward excellence. He based his enterprises on "standards of ownership," defining ownership as a "sacred trust and a great privilege" in which the owner had responsibilities to the community. For Nelson Poynter, the standards meant honesty, integrity, aggressive service and financial independence. It also meant high standards for staff and management to carry out those principles. Poynter led his staff in a statewide campaign against lynching and government mismanagement, and in favor of racial integration and the development of St. Petersburg and other Counties into something more than the sleepy retirement community it for old people. His pro-development crusades included such projects as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. After his death at 74, the newspaper advocated the construction of what is now known as Tropicana Field. Poynter also was competitive in business. In 1971, his newspaper's circulation campaign and booming growth in Pinellas County combined to surpass rival Tampa Tribune in circulation, a lead that remains today. Poynter's campaigns resulted in the newspaper's first Pulitzer Prize in 1964 for public service. The paper won five more Pulitzers, National reporting in 1980,