GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA 287 



NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PERIODICALS 



From a 19JO newspaper directory of the United States it ap- 

 pears that there are in central Florida about 14 daily, 3 semi- 

 weekly and 46 weekly newspapers (some of the weeklies being 

 weekly editions of dailies, however, and not independent enter- 

 prises), besides 10 special publications (mostly weekly) for agri- 

 culturists, college students, ministers, motorists, labor unionists. 

 Cubans or negroes. Their average circulation cannot be esti- 

 mated closely, because the individual figures are not given in some 

 cases, some papers are printed only part of the year, some have a 

 larger circulation in winter than in summer, etc. But there must 

 be about 450,000 papers printed each week, enough to give every 

 family, white and black, a paper every day. This is doubtless 

 above the State average, for in 1909, according to the census, the 

 aggregate circulation of all periodicals printed in Florida was 

 about 700,000 per week, or four a week per family.* Of course 

 many copies, especially of Tampa papers, go outside of central 

 Florida, but this must be much more than counterbalanced by pub- 

 lications coming in from other sections and states, and the total 

 number of papers read may be as much as two a day per family, 

 or three a day per white family. 



It is hardly worth while to give statistics by regions, for prob- 

 ably no paper has its circulation confined to one region; but out- 

 side of Tampa those of largest circulation are in the western di- 

 vision of the flatwoods, averaging about 5,700 per week normally. 

 Those in St. Petersburg claim a doubled circulation in the tourist 

 season, and one of them distributes its whole edition gratuitously 

 on days when the sun does not shine previous to the hour of print- 

 ing. 



*In the whole United States at the same time the number of papers printed 

 was about eleven a week per family, but the number read may be much less, 

 for the number coming in from foreign countries must be less than the number 

 exported to Canada, etc. 



