Staff Report

The Pelican Press weekly newspaper and sister shopper Pelican Press Marketplace were sold this week to The Observer Group Inc.

The 40-year-old Pelican Press, based on Siesta Key, was founded by drugstore owner John Davidson and sold in 1998 to a subsidiary of Journal Communications Inc., publisher of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The sale price was not disclosed.

The Observer Group publishes weekly Longboat Key, Sarasota and East County editions of the Observer and the Gulf Coast Business Review, according to a story on the company's website. It also owns the Palm Coast Observer on Florida's East Coast.

Journal Community Publishing Group Inc. announced the sale Thursday in a three-sentence news release.

The Milwaukee company sold the Pelican Press, which employs 10, as part of a decision to focus on its Wisconsin properties, which include 30 community newspapers and shoppers, general manager Hugh McGarry said in the Observer story.

"No immediate changes to the Pelican have been announced, although staffs will work to determine market needs in the near future," the Observer said in its story.

The Pelican Press' circulation averaged 22,000 a week, according to the Circulation Verification Council.

The original Longboat Observer was founded in 1978 by Ralph and Claire Hunter. It was purchased in 1995 by Matt and Lisa Walsh.