DAVID JONES: Award-Winning Sports Journalist In Brevard County For More Than 25 Years

By  //  May 9, 2018

PRIMARY GATOR BEAT REPORTER FOR GANNETT

ABOVE VIDEO: David Jones served as the primary University of Florida and SEC beat reporter not just for Florida Today, but also for all Gannett papers in the Sunshine State, as well as USA Today, from 1994 until 2014. He earned 14 national awards, including three top five finishes for sports news reporting and two top-five finishes for enterprise reporting in the Associated Press Sports Editors national competition.

THE 2018 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 11. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

2018 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – David Jones first got an inkling that there may be something to his writing when during his creative writing class in high school, his teacher would make it a point to read aloud one of Jones’ many stories during the last 15 minutes of class.

“The other students loved them,” said Jones, who parlayed that early success into a long and well-recognized career in sports journalism.

At Marshall University, thanks to a baseball scholarship, Jones majored in journalism and quickly advanced from sports editor to editor of the college newspaper.

The newly minted bachelor of journalism in 1982 headed to Charleston, West Virginia, to cover high school and college sports for the Charleston Gazette, his base of operations as he traveled the state reporting on games and sports personalities.

Among his stories during his stint with the Gazette was coverage of Olympic gold medalist and West Virginia native Mary Lou Retton.

From West Virginia, Jones headed to Florida in 1985 to take up a new job as a sports reporter, and later sports editor, for the Clearwater Sun.

He began amassing awards, more than two dozen at the Sun, including four first places for enterprise, breaking news and game coverage by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Hearst newspaper named Jones top sports reporter in 1988 and again in 1989. The section he produced was named one of the nation’s top 10 sports sections in the Associated Press competition. No sports reporter won more national awards during the four-year period than Jones did.

David Jones served as the primary University of Florida and SEC beat reporter not just for Florida Today, but also for all Gannett papers in the Sunshine State, as well as USA Today, from 1994 until 2014. He earned 14 national awards, including three top five finishes for sports news reporting and two top-five finishes for enterprise reporting in the Associated Press Sports Editors national competition.

PRIMARY GATOR BEAT REPORTER FOR GANNETT

In 1989, Florida Today encouraged Jones to go from west to east in Florida. At the Gannett Company newspaper in Brevard, Jones began an illustrious career that spanned more than a quarter of a century.

When not reporting on sports, Jones could be found in sports, primarily running. He ran and finished in the top 10 to 15 percent in the Boston Marathon twice and has finished six marathons and participated in more than 300 distance races in more than 30 states.

If the subject was sports, he was on it and reported it excellently. During his tenure with the paper, Jones covered the University of Florida’s three national football and two national basketball championships, all 19 of coach Billy Donavan’s years with the Gators, Four NCAA men’s basketball Final Four tournaments, multiple SEC championship games, multiple Super Bowls and the 1997 World Series, among others.

He served as the primary University of Florida and SEC beat reporter not just for Florida Today, but also for all Gannett papers in the Sunshine State, as well as USA Today, from 1994 until 2014. From 2014 until 2015, Jones also delivered three weekly columns on a variety of sports topics, with emphasis on the major news topics affecting sports programs and athletes around the nation.

No Florida Today sports reporter has won more national and state awards in the past 20 years than Jones.

The former Heisman Trophy voter earned 14 national awards, including three top-five finishes for sports news reporting and two top-five finishes for enterprise reporting in the Associated Press Sports Editors national competition.

When not reporting on sports, Jones could be found in sports, primarily running. He ran and finished in the top 10 to 15 percent in the Boston Marathon twice and has finished six marathons and participated in more than 300 distance races in more than 30 states.

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Alex Powers All-American, ACC-Scholar Athlete and Player of the Year During Career at Florida State

THE 2018 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 11. CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT the 2018 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME, call 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE MEMBERS OF THE SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

THE 2018 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME Banquet and Induction Ceremony will take place at the Cocoa Beach Country Club on Friday, May 11.

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