Jacksonville Attorney John Phillips Forms Company To Relaunch Folio Weekly

Jacksonville’s alternative weekly newspaper is making a comeback.

Local attorney John Phillips has announced he’s a partner in a new venture called Boldland Press, Inc., which will own the reconstituted Folio Weekly, which folded in May due to the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Phillips declined to reveal any details about other potential investors.

“'Whodunnit’ of ownership isn’t the story. It’s the ‘why’ that matters,” Phillips wrote in an email to WJCT News.

Folio Weekly had been a fixture in Jacksonville for 33 years when former publisher and owner Sam Taylor announced that “COVID-19 has changed the way we live,” saying it was time to retire.

Phillips hasn’t said yet how closely the new Folio will follow its predecessor's format, which included a website and weekly tabloid, which was distributed primarily in area bars and restaurants.

“We are meeting with the ‘smartest in the room’ while trying to figure out how to create something that lasts and uploading the vast archive on a shoestring budget,” Phillips wrote.

The new operation is being marketed as Folio Weekly 2.0. A post on its Twitter page said the plan is to return next month.

On the Folio website, Boldland Press is described as a locally owned publisher with no venture capital, no paywalls and no grants. The company further states it is not “pay for play,” which is term used in the media industry to describe outlets that take money for coverage.

Phillips made the cover of Folio last year in a profile story titled “'The Hard Rock of Justice' Attorney John Phillips Fights the Good Fight.”

FolioWeekly.com is currently displaying archived content and has launched a new donation page, asking readers to consider endowing writers via Venmo, check or credit card.

Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.