Wednesday's edition runs photo spread

News-Leader backs down on ban of coverage of PRIDE events

Posted
By Mike Lednovich

Mounting public pressure Tuesday led to the Fernandina News-Leader doing an about-face  on the publisher's decision to ban coverage of the local Pride organization. The newspaper printed a photo array on the back page of Wednesday's edition and on its website.

Just days after the city celebrated diversity in the community, the News-Leader had notified local PRIDE officials Monday that it would not publish news or editorials regarding the organization.

News-Leader reporter Julia Roberts said in an email to PRIDE President Jordan Morris on Monday that the newspaper would not write about PRIDE.

"I hate even typing these words, but our publisher has made the decision not to allow us to write about Pride. We pleaded our case, but he was not to be convinced," Roberts wrote in the email Monday.
 
 
Roberts was responding to a press release Morris had submitted about the annual PRIDE Festival held last Saturday at Central Park, which was preceded by a parade.
 
"I think (hope?) you understand this is NOT my idea. I loved attending and participating. I will continue to support you in any way I can. I also think what you wrote would make an excellent letter to the editor if you would like. It's well written and I really like it. Let me know if that's what you want," Roberts said in the email.
 
Todd Frantz joined the newspaper as publisher last March.
 
Among the newspapers he has worked for are the Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Daily Herald in Provo, Utah, News-Tribune in Jefferson City, Missouri, the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Washington and the San Angelo Standard-Times in San Angelo, Texas.
 
The Observer has emailed Frantz for a comment regarding the newspaper's decision not to cover news about PRIDE. He has not responded as of Wednesday morning.
 
"Thanks to the loud voices of some of our supporters and pressure from some newspaper staff, the News Leader squeezed in a few photos from our Pride event on the back page of today’s paper along with a generic sentence about the parade route that was copied out of our original press release from May. While this is obviously preferable to no coverage at all, the article that covered the event remains scrapped by the publisher, who refuses to return emails and phone calls from his concerned subscribers. We remain deeply concerned by the new direction of our local newspaper. We encourage everyone to be vigilant and use your voice to help fight censorship and promote a free press in Fernandina Beach," PRIDE president Jordan Morris wrote this morning on the group's Facebook page.
 

He said this on Tuesday on the newspaper's original decision not to cover PRIDE: "Typically, we at least get coverage in the calendar section, so I was surprised that I didn't see any mention of Pride in the News Leader in the weeks leading up to the event. Now it makes sense," Morris said. "A publisher's decision not to cover a major city parade and event - or simply acknowledge that it happened - because it makes them uncomfortable creates a very slippery slope and, frankly, a local media crisis that should be extremely concerning to all subscribers and advertisers. Cherry picking news stories is a practice of fringe, partisan publication. As president of Pride, a city resident and a News Leader subscriber, I'm very concerned for our community."

Under Frantz' leadership, the newspaper has shifted coverage to a more conservative approach to local news and issues. Editor Tracy Dishman recently resigned over the new direction of the newspaper.
 

In 2024 and 2023, the News-Leader published a photo slideshow of the parade with  bylines attributed to Dishman and the newspaper staff.

“As you may be aware, the News-Leader is undergoing changes with new publishers who are taking the publication in a direction that conflicts with the journalistic values, integrity and community focus I’ve championed during my tenure. Given these irreconcilable differences, I have moved forward in my career and am excited about new opportunities that align with both my personal and professional convictions,” Dishman wrote in an email to News-Leader staff.

Publisher Todd Frantz
Publisher Todd Frantz
 
"I am proud to report that Fernandina Beach Pride's fifth annual parade and festival was a great success. We welcomed our largest crowd to date (approx. 3,000 people) to witness our longest parade to date and enjoy a celebration of love, acceptance and community in the heart of Fernandina Beach," Morris wrote in the press release. "There were no reported protests, security issues or incidents, which is a strong testament to the fine work of the Fernandina Beach Police Department, the Police Auxiliary Corps and our dedicated team of passionate volunteers. It is also a testament to the people who attended and participated in the day's events."
 
 

Comments

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  • SherT10

    Just unsubscribed from the other paper. I hope more do the same.

    2 days ago Report this

  • Mark Tomes

    The previous publisher was also very conservative, and censored some of the more left-leaning news and articles, but at least gave Tracy Dishman some leeway to add new voices from a diverse spectrum of viewpoints. Mr. Frantz, the new publisher, is exercising a very narrow and, we should admittedly say, bigoted, viewpoint to the definition of community. This will definitely go down as a dark stain in the history of the leadership of the News-Leader.

    2 days ago Report this

  • JofusD

    However disappointing this may be we must remember that ALL journalism is biased.

    2 days ago Report this

  • JJC919

    The idea of ignoring the event and striking any mention entirely harkens back to the days of Jim Crow and segregation. It is well beyond simple bias! Sadly, I have purchased the last News-Leader until a change occurs in the position of its leadership.

    Community is all encompassing not exclusionary! This is more a display of ignorance than anything I can recall locally over the last 35 years. Sad times for us!

    Yesterday at 6:26 AM Report this

  • BPokeNJ

    Todd Frantz will regret not covering this event. Pride is an important piece of civil rights. We need the news to stop being a bully pulpit for political views.

    Yesterday at 8:16 AM Report this

  • lehartgreen

    While the late-breaking addition of back page coverage is SOMETHING, it does not mitigate the action or the direction the newspaper is taking.

    I thank all those who added their voices and spoke with their wallets and canceled subscriptions. Keep the pressure on.

    If there is ONE WORD about the upcoming Christian Heritage event at the end of the month outside of paid advertising, you have your answer as to the direction of this so-called newspaper.

    Yesterday at 8:40 AM Report this

  • Christine

    To the Editor:

    I was disheartened to learn of the News-Leader's initial decision to exclude coverage of our local PRIDE celebration. In a community that recently came together to celebrate diversity and inclusion, it’s deeply troubling to see our hometown newspaper attempt to silence that very progress.

    While the reversal, printing a few back-page photos, was better than nothing, it does not erase the fact that a deliberate editorial choice was made to ignore a significant public event. This wasn’t just a party in the park; it was a family-friendly, city-supported celebration of love, identity, and belonging. To intentionally omit that from the record is not just disappointing, it undermines the role of a local paper as a trustworthy, community-centered chronicle of what matters to its people.

    Free press is the cornerstone of any thriving community. But cherry-picking which voices to uplift based on personal or political discomfort is not journalism. It’s censorship.

    We need local media that reflects and respects the full fabric of Fernandina Beach—not just the parts deemed palatable by one publisher. I applaud the News-Leader reporters and former editor who stood by their values, and I stand with all who believe that visibility matters, representation matters, and truth matters.

    If we’re going to be a community that values freedom, let’s make sure that includes freedom of expression, freedom to gather, and freedom to be seen.

    Sincerely,

    Christine Hiebel

    Fernandina Beach Resident & Proud Supporter of PRIDE

    Yesterday at 2:52 PM Report this

  • Carmela

    Coming from a family that has owned newspapers, may I suggest that if you are truly concerned about the direction the "News" Leader is heading, you not only unsubscribe and let the publisher know why you are leaving, but also take the time to take note of their advertisers and let THEM know of your concerns. That is when the paper will really understand the breadth of the community's concern.

    7 hours ago Report this

  • lindareads

    I wasn’t sure on the times for the Sat event at Central Park for Pride and couldn’t find out any details?!? Now I know! How disappointing some people are so prejudiced and closed minded AND also in control what information is out there. Free press is unbiased information on facts not little minds controlling what others read. I was disappointed in Fernandina Beach in this instance.

    6 hours ago Report this

  • Hibdon1998

    Thank you for reporting on this story. How unfortunate for their staff & their readers to be in the position of depending on a small-minded publisher in the profession who hand picks stories based on personal biases. Frantz and the readership that agrees with him will always be closed-minded, they will never accept everyone and therefore will continue to be ignorant and prejudiced. Very unfortunate in such a small, beautiful, quaint community filled with such an eclectic and beautiful group of citizens from all walks of life!

    6 hours ago Report this

  • Mark Tomes

    Todd Frantz's true colors have been shown. He had the audacity and poor judgment to single out a group of people in our community to ignore. His true allegiances lie with religious zealots and Lost Cause Southern beliefs. I'm very proud of our community to stand up and stick together. The previous News-Leader publisher was also very conservative, but had the better judgment to hide most of it, and did a great service to the community when he hired Tracy Dishman as Editor. There was a brief period of a diversity of opinions allowed in the paper, but only to a certain point. I was their most left-leaning columnist, and the publisher refused to print my columns on systemic racism, gun control, and a leftist perspective on the November ballot initiatives. We'll have to see what Frantz does with this situation now. But how will we know what's going on our community when he refuses to print certain aspects of it? What's the next thing that he will ban?

    6 hours ago Report this

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