Folio Weekly

About Folio Weekly

Folio Weekly is the alternative newspaper of Jacksonville, Florida — "entertaining Jacksonville since 1987" — covering politics, lifestyle, entertainment, events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports and art across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, the Beaches and Fernandina. Founded in April 1987, it is the largest and most influential alternative paper in Northeast Florida, a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and a multiple AAN Award winner. After shutting down in May 2020 during the pandemic's "economic freefall," it was acquired by Boldland Press, Inc. and roared back within weeks as "Folio 2.0" under publisher and owner John Michael Phillips. Its website is folioweekly.com, and its offices are at 624 Goodwin Street in Jacksonville.

Founding in 1987

Folio Weekly was founded in April 1987 in Jacksonville, Florida — the same year the Florida newspaper history timeline records the establishment of both Folio and the Miami New Times. Jacksonville, the sprawling River City on Florida's First Coast, finally had an alternative weekly of its own: a paper to cover the politics, lifestyle and entertainment scenes the daily Florida Times-Union didn't. The paper grew steadily into its role as the region's alt-weekly standard-bearer.

Growth into Northeast Florida's alt-weekly leader

Over three decades, Folio became the largest and most influential alternative paper in Northeast Florida, distributed across Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties. Its circulation was reported at 41,928 as of June 2012, and by 2019 it was distributing 15,000 to 20,000 copies. The paper's own materials describe it as serving more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. Its membership in the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and its multiple AAN Awards — three by some counts — marked it as a nationally recognized alt-weekly.

The paper's 28th anniversary issue in 2015 captured the newsroom culture that built that reputation: a small editorial team whose members found their niches — like John Citrone, who had applied as a news writer but found his calling in arts and entertainment — and whose alumni carried Folio's influence into new careers. Former staffer Tricia Booker, revisiting the paper's mid-1990s glory days in the anniversary issue, opened with a Hunter S. Thompson quote and scene-setting worthy of the paper's irreverent tradition — a reminder that Folio's voice was always as much a part of its identity as its coverage.

Editorial coverage

Folio is its readers' guide to entertainment and culture in and around Jacksonville: events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings and all things about living in and visiting Jax. Its editorial news platform gives readers round-the-clock online access to current events in the River City. The paper's coverage balances the alt-weekly staples — music, film, food, the arts calendar — with political and lifestyle reporting on one of Florida's most dynamic metro areas.

That mix has defined Folio since the 1980s: the paper that told Jacksonville what was happening on any given weekend while also covering the politics and civic life of Florida's largest city by land area. Its writers and critics have chronicled the River City's scenes — from the Beaches' music venues to downtown's theaters, from St. Augustine's historic streets to Fernandina's waterfront — with the local knowledge and irreverent voice that made the paper essential reading for culturally engaged Jacksonvillians.

Awards and recognition

Folio's journalism has been recognized repeatedly by its peers. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and has won multiple AAN Awards — three by some counts — honoring excellence in alternative journalism. Those awards, earned across different eras of the paper's history, reflect the consistency of its editorial ambition: a regional alt-weekly producing work that stood up to national competition.

The 2020 shutdown

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated alt-weekly advertising nationwide, and Folio was no exception. On May 5, 2020, after 33 years, Folio Weekly announced it would shut down, citing the "economic freefall" brought on by the coronavirus. Publisher Sam Taylor declined to say whether selling the paper was an option, and editor-in-chief Georgio Valentino confirmed employees were not given severance pay. The Jacksonville Daily Record's headline said it plainly: "Folio Weekly shuts down after 33 years."

Folio 2.0: the comeback

The closure lasted barely a month. In June 2020, almost exactly a month after announcing its closure, Folio was back: social media posts showed its signature red masthead with "2.0" scrawled across it. "Independent, locally owned journalism is back," a tweet declared. "No paywalls. Your stories. Bolder than ever." The paper had been acquired by Boldland Press, Inc., with attorney John Michael Phillips linked to the ownership group — and Phillips, a board-certified civil trial lawyer at Phillips, Hunt & Walker who has served as a national legal commentator on major criminal cases and was named to the Forbes list of the Top 200 Lawyers in America (2024), is now the paper's publisher and owner, writing on Jacksonville culture, civic life and the law.

From weekly to monthly — and back

The revived Folio adapted its print rhythm to the new economics: in March 2021 it was converted into a monthly newspaper, and it has since begun publishing twice a month under Boldland Press ownership. Through the changes, it retained its tabloid format, its red masthead and its mission as Jacksonville's alternative paper.

Digital presence

Folio's website, folioweekly.com, grants readers 24/7 online access to Jacksonville events and happenings, complementing the print editions with daily updates. The paper's contact point — team@folioweekly.com, (904) 239-5736 — and its event listings make it a working utility for navigating the River City's cultural life, from gallery exhibitions at venues like the Alexander Brest Gallery to concerts, festivals and community events.

The Phillips era

Under John Michael Phillips, Folio has been steered by an owner with a public profile well beyond publishing. A board-certified civil trial lawyer at Phillips, Hunt & Walker, admitted to practice in Florida, New York, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and the District of Columbia — and before the U.S. Supreme Court — Phillips has served as a national legal commentator on major criminal cases and obtained some of the largest verdicts in the country for injured clients. Named to the Forbes list of the Top 200 Lawyers in America (2024) and America's Best-In-State Lawyers (2025), he writes for the paper on Jacksonville culture, civic life and the law, bringing a lawyer's eye for accountability to the alt-weekly's traditional adversarial stance toward power.

A Jacksonville institution

Folio Weekly's story — 33 years of alt-weekly journalism, a pandemic shutdown, and a resurrection within weeks under local ownership — captures both the fragility and the resilience of the American alternative press. Founded in 1987, killed by COVID in 2020, reborn as Folio 2.0 the same year, it remains Northeast Florida's largest and most influential alternative paper: still independent, still locally owned, still entertaining Jacksonville.

The paper's endurance across nearly four decades — through ownership changes, a shutdown and rebirth, and the transformation of print media — testifies to the loyalty of its readership and the depth of its roots in the River City. For generations of Jacksonvillians, Folio has been the guide to living in and loving their city: where to go, what to see, what to eat, and what the powerful would prefer they didn't know. "Independent, locally owned journalism is back," the 2.0 relaunch declared. "No paywalls. Your stories. Bolder than ever." It still is.