A week after the social media announcement of the return of Folio magazine, Jacksonville lawyer John Phillips announced he is one of the new owners of the publication.
Phillips told the Meninak Club of Jacksonville on June 15 he bought the publication and is hiring writers and staff. He hopes to have a print issue out in July.
He said he is a partner in Boldland Press Inc., which bought Folio. He declined to name the other partners.
Phillips said his wife helped him create the logo for Folio 2.0, which debuted in social media posts June 8.
“Independently, locally owned journalism is back. No paywalls. Your stories. Bolder than ever,” the June 8 social media post read. Representatives from the publication declined to provide further information on its relaunch.
Former Publisher Sam Taylor announced Folio’s closing May 5 during the pandemic, citing “the economic freefall of this outbreak.”
“We want to restore and keep very vibrant the independent and local storytelling,” Phillips told the Meninak Club. “And focus on some positive stories … There’s some amazing people here to talk about.”
He is the founding partner of the Phillips & Hunt law firm. Its main office is at 208 Laura St. in Downtown Jacksonville. It has offices in Gainesville, Fort Pierce, Lakeland, Brunswick, Georgia, and Alabama.
He said he is discussing decisions for the publication with the board. He did not name who was on the board.
Taylor will assist in restarting the publication. Phillips will serve as interim publisher.
“Every decision is being put before a group to help make it something that lasts,” he said. “The problem with print media and the problem Folio faced was money. It wasn’t run as a business, too.”
Phillips said he would release information this week on how people can support the publication. His law firm is one of the sponsors and he hopes for more community sponsors to fund the publication.
He said he and his son spent hours the past weekend organizing 33 years of past issues. Phillips said he intends to scan and create “an almanac” of archived Folio stories to be available online.
“It’s important to learn the past and know the perspective,” he said.
He and his board are working to hire writers, editors and others who want to contribute to the publication. He isn’t sure how many would be hired, and it depends on how much support the publication receives from community sponsors.
Phillips said he is “in discussions with prior writers” from Folio to be part of the new publication, but wouldn’t disclose their names.
“We’re hiring, looking for people to give the rich diversity of Folio Weekly and bring it back such that people can tell stories and celebrate the positive in Jacksonville,” he said.
Phillips registered PDJ Publishing Inc. with the state Division of Corporations on June 1. He is listed as president. Phillips said in an email that PDJ is for separate projects and has nothing to do with Folio Weekly.
“Northeast Florida, particularly right now, needs local, independent media,” he said. “It was too important to turn down.”
