Grew From Tiny Website To Leading News Source For Palm Beach County, State Of Florida. Always Free For All.
BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor, Publisher and Founder
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — BocaNewsNow.com launched on October 4th, 2011 with a story about a Boca Raton library branch. That was more than 8,000 stories ago. Over the past nine years, what started as a hobby website has evolved into a leading source of news and information for Palm Beach County and the state of Florida. We have logged tens of millions of page views over nine years and now average 1.5-Million page views a month. BocaNewsNow.com is aggregated by all of the major news distribution services, is often cited by local media, and is sadly copied by desperate area newspapers still trying to figure out how to combine local reporting and online distribution into a profitable business model. We figured it out. We wish them luck.
It has never been more important to provide free, credible journalism. That is the basis of BocaNewsNow.com and it will never change. We do not charge for access to our site. There is no limit to the number of stories you can read.
Who Is This “Andrew Colton” Guy?
How did it start? As many of our readers know, I’m a former on-air local and national network news correspondent. I was frustrated back in 2011 that it seemed no one was covering news in Boca, Delray and Boynton Beach. It was a “no man’s land” between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Not big enough for anyone to care. But I cared. That led to a website and a mission: report the stories that matter, and do it without a paywall. Just a few people read the site over the first few months. Then it grew. And grew. And grew. BocaNewsNow.com logged 1.63 Million pageviews in September of 2020.
This is not a full time job. By way of disclosure, and as I’ve disclosed multiple times before, I produce what are known as “day in the life video” and “legal settlement video” productions for attorneys worldwide. These videos are used to help critically injured adults and children receive the help they so desperately need, while reducing the strain on the court system. It’s all about helping people. And it’s the same goal as BocaNewsNow.com.
You may not always like our reporting. You may not always like the story selection. But if you learn something by reading a story, if we help you solve a problem, if we put pressure on officials who feel they can get away with something because no one knows or cares, then it’s a good day. There is no bias. We respect both sides of the aisle. Facts matter. It’s just that simple.
I thank you for your support over the years and look forward to what we can all do together in the years ahead. Like most 9 year olds, BocaNewsNow.com is just getting started.
Congratulations & Well done!