About the Gabber

History

The Gabber Newspaper – originally the Gulfport Gabber – was founded in 1968 by George Brann, primarily to cover Gulfport City Council. Brann’s paper soon became a vital resource for the community, expanding the advertising base and coverage, to include features, community news and events. Elsie and Ted Havness bought the paper from Brann in 1980 and sold to Ken and Deb Reichart 1992, who owned the paper for 28 years before selling to Cathy Salustri Loper and Barry Loper in June 2020.

The Gabber Newspaper is the oldest independent weekly newspaper in Florida. We serve South Pinellas communities – from south John’s Pass to Tierra Verde and east to downtown St. Petersburg, you’ll find local news, community events, in-depth feature stories and the most extensive classifieds of any weekly newspaper in the area.

The Gabber is an independent, family owned newspaper. We’re proud of our history and our future.

Former Gabber owners Ken and Deb Reichart, left, with new owners Cathy Salustri Loper and Barry Loper. The Gabber sale was official June 22, 2020.

Mission

The Gabber Newspaper has no agenda other than to inform the public through accurate and honest reporting, to engage the community and help us all better understand our hyper-local and regional world.

We believe all politics are local, and that what we do, as journalists and as private citizens – even on a small scale – echoes throughout our community. Our mission and values are at the heart of everything we do, from political and cultural reporting, to design elements and community involvement.

Fact Checking and Transparency

As a news outlet, our primary responsibility is to disseminate information in as clear, concise and correct a manner as possible.

Gabber writers and editorial staff make every effort to confirm the veracity of the facts in a story, as appropriate to the nature, complexity and time constraints of the piece.

We check facts, not opinions. With hyperbolic statements, we verify the fact at its source and make every effort to clarify quotes that may be misleading.

As necessary, and whenever possible, Gabber writers and editorial staff independently verify facts, claims and allegations, particularly those made by public officials or sources.

Corrections

How we handle errors in our reporting is at the heart of our ethics and transparency policies. If we’re wrong, we say so – and correct our mistake as swiftly as possible, in print, online and across social media platforms.

The Gabber follows AP guidelines for corrections. Our writers must notify editorial staff of errors in reporting as soon as possible. We will acknowledge the error to our readers and address it clearly in an editor’s note – at the top of the web post or in the first pages of our print issue. When we make corrections to a post online, we mark the date and time, and identify the incorrect information in the original post.

We welcome corrections and clarifications from our readers, and will print or post them as soon as they are verified. To report a correction or clarification, please email news@thegabber.com.

Ethics

Integrity matters. The Gabber Newspaper acts with integrity, in print and across our digital platforms, as we gather and report news to the community.

We will never knowingly circulate false information or rumors, violate public trust or the confidence of our sources. We strive to identify all sources, and to be transparent in our collection of facts and assets. We do not tolerate plagiarism and all material gets proper citation.

If we get it wrong, we will verify, correct and inform our readers as swiftly as possible. The Gabber does not engage in quid pro quo. We do not report in return for advertising or any other leverage or compensation. All paid content in the Gabber will be identifiable as advertisement, or clearly marked as such.

Ownership and Funding

The Gabber Newspaper is part of Thursday Morning Media, Inc., a for-profit Florida corporation wholly owned by Cathy Salustri Loper and Barry Loper. Thursday Morning Media receives the bulk of its funding from the Gabber Newspaper advertisers, although readers have made donations and loans to secure the paper’s future in the community. Thursday Morning Media also receives funding for contracted marketing work. Owners in no way allow funding or investors to dictate editorial decisions.