Ocean Springs has a new local online newspaper. Here's what to know

In the coastal town of Ocean Springs, one of the oldest towns in Mississippi, residents have gotten local news from the pages of a string of community newspapers dating back to The Ocean Springs Gazette, a weekly newspaper established in 1854.

The Ocean Springs Record, a longtime local favorite newspaper began publishing in 1965, merged with the Ocean Spring Gazette and was shut down in 2018. Most recently, The Coastal Breeze operated a little more than year, ceasing publication in 2020, leaving residents without a hometown newspaper source.

Local journalist Leigh Coleman, who was editor and publisher of the Record and helped relaunch The Ocean Springs Gazette several years ago, worked two years putting together a digital newspaper in the tradition of The Record.

The first online edition of The Ocean Springs Weekly Record launched March 1 and will be posted online every Friday morning. Subscriptions are free and residents can sign up to receive weekly newspaper alerts emailed to them, including breaking news reports and updates.

Ocean Springs residents “treasure history, and they love their newspaper,” Coleman said, but the new Weekly Record “is more about keeping nostalgia alive while reporting factual news.”

Coleman said the Record had the longest run of any local newspaper in recent years and its decades-long success is attributed to “offering features people really loved.” The new Record will publish police reports, school and government news, family milestones and weddings.

Coleman also plans for the news staff to play a watchdog role in the Record’s coverage. “Local politics impact residents’ lives every day, and this newspaper pledges to cover local politics, school district news, and all decision-making bodies extensively,” the newspaper’s website states.

The staff, unpaid for now, includes editors, journalists, photographers and historians, Coleman said.

In a press release announcing the new venture, Coleman said, “We wanted to create a reliable local news publication supported by the community — that is not just a social media post. The big thing here is the support and involvement of the community.”

If there is enough reader and advertising support, Coleman said she will print several hundred copies of the Record to distribute to residents who don’t have online access.

Since announcing the newspaper’s return on social media, Coleman said, “The response has been absolutely overwhelming.” She received more than 500 emails from residents who responded positively to the new Record.

Cindy Bamburg, a longtime resident and owner of Ocean Springs Discount Pharmacy, said, “I’m really looking forward to being able to go online to read it and hopefully advertise on the site. It’s something that will bring a lot of local people from Ocean Springs together.”

The coverage will focus on Ocean Springs, but there will be stories about events outside the city when needed to keep residents informed, Coleman said.

Coleman, who has a law degree, has covered elections for AP and freelanced for several publications. She said she consulted with area newspaper executives for advice on getting the new Record up and running.

Coleman said she is seeking funding sources such as grants to support the newspaper and that the Record is guided only by its editorial board and the community.

“This paper is going to remain free and not have a paywall. We are relying on the community and donors to keep us alive,” she said.

Coleman said the Record is temporarily using space in the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce as a meeting place and drop off point for residents who have news tips and press releases.

In the future she said, “What I’d like to see is a downtown office, where people walking past can come in, get to know the news staff and their editors and know they’ve got a watchdog.”

Visit https://oceanspringsweeklyrecord.com.

To sign up for weekly email alerts from the newspaper. email name and email address to staff@oceanspringsweeklyrecord.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ocean Springs MS has a new local online newspaper