OBITUARY: Former Florida Today Publisher Mike Coleman Passes Away Unexpectedly March 13
By Space Coast Daily // March 15, 2025
consummate newsman and charismatic leader was Florida Today publisher for 16 years
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Michael J. Coleman, a former publisher of Florida Today, passed away unexpectedly on March 13, at 81.
Coleman arrived in Brevard County in 1991 to take the helm of the daily paper founded by media legend Al Neuharth in 1966, he was a consummate newsman and charismatic leader and was the face of Florida Today in the Brevard community for the next 16 years.
He retired in 2007, and during his tenure, the newspaper experienced its greatest period of expansion and influenece.
Coleman started his career as a general assignment reporter for his hometown newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1963 and was promoted to city editor and then managing editor there.
Gannett transferred Coleman to Port Huron, Mich. in 1977 to become that paper’s metro editor. Four years later he returned to Saratoga Springs as the newspaper’s publisher.
By 1986, Coleman was serving as president of Gannett’s newspaper holdings in the Midwest and publisher of the company’s newspaper in Rockford, Ill.
In May 1991, he was named president and publisher of Florida Today and president of the Gannett South Newspaper Group, ultimately supervising 21 newspapers and other publications for the company.
During Coleman’s career at Florida Today, the paper became the go-to for news and information in the community as its circulation reached an all-time high, surpassing 100,000 copies in sales and subscriptions. Advertising revenue soared to record levels, too.
“When I arrived here, the population was about 200,000 people,” Coleman said in a 2012 interview. “When I retired in 2007, it was more than 500,000.”
The always unpretentious Coleman credited his team at Florida Today for helping the newspaper achieve so much during his tenure as publisher.
“It’s a combination of hiring the right people and having people who cared about this community,” Coleman said.
As publisher, Coleman guided the newspaper through a period of change. During that time, a number of content improvements were added for readers, such as a new health section and enhanced business and sports coverage.
“We also added to the non-daily product portfolio,” said Coleman. “When I got there, the paper published about 16 non-daily publications, and when I left, we had 32.”
Many of those community publications offered micro-community news, while Florida Today concentrated on countywide coverage. Monthly papers in Viera, Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach prospered and became bi-weeklies and then full-fledged weekly newspapers.
Weekly community papers stretched from Palm Bay to Titusville, and the lineup was enhanced in 2000 with the acquisition of the popular Space Coast Press, based in Merritt Island.
The Press was founded in 1989 by veteran newsman Barney Waters, who started in the newspaper business as a sportswriter for the Miami Herald. He served as managing editor for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and in the same position for Today from 1975 to 1978.
By 1989, he saw the need for a community paper on Merritt Island and remained its editor until John Barnes purchased the paper in 1993. In 1997, Barnes sold the business to Tom Palermo, now Space Coast Daily publisher, and a group of local investors led by the late prominent local businessman and philanthropist Fred Gay.
In 1998, Palermo expanded the publication’s circulation countywide and renamed the paper Space Coast Press. Gannett then purchased the Press on July 1, 2000.
“Mike Coleman was an amazing man,” said Palermo. “He is among the most savvy and shrewd business talents I have ever worked with, and his ability to relate to and inspire those around him was profound.”
The community newspapers proved to be enormously popular, and virtually every community in Brevard had a local weekly or monthly publication to call its own.
Even as those community efforts were launched, Coleman said the newspaper also was active in finding ways to recognize unsung local heroes and in performing charitable work.
“Two of the things I am proudest of during my time at Florida Today are creating the Volunteer Recognition Awards and the Reaching Out Holiday Fund,” he said.
“The VRAs put the spotlight on those who volunteer and do good things for the community. Couple that with our creation of the Reaching Out Holiday Toy Fund campaign that buys toys, books, and school supplies for 35,000 needy children, and they are something I am very proud of and very pleased that the community has stepped up to embrace these important events.”
“I’m extremely proud of the product improvements made in my time at Florida Today and the expanded role the newspaper took in the community,” Coleman said.
After retiring from the newspaper in 2007, Coleman remained active, assisting with a number of community organizations and non-profit groups and serving on the boards of the Brevard Zoo, The King Center, Ron Jon Surf Shop, the Florida Bank of Commerce, Dentsply International of York, Pa., the Freedom Forum and the Newseum in Washington, D.C. He also founded and operated Cool Media Consultants in Brevard.
Coleman is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Louise (Natale) Coleman; sons, Mark and Christopher Coleman; and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son, Michael J. Coleman, Jr.
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
