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The Longboat Observer Inc. publishes five community and business newspapers on the West Coast of Florida. The company was formed in 1995 by partners Matt Walsh and David Beliles, when they purchased The Longboat Observer from its founders, Ralph and Claire Hunter. The Longboat Observer has been published as a free community weekly since 1978. It serves the barrier island of Longboat Key (near Sarasota, Fla.) and surrounding barrier islands, as well as portions of Sarasota and Bradenton. Today, The Longboat Observer has an average weekly circulation of 19,000 and more than 40,000 weekly readers. It reaches more than 95% of the 10,000 residences on Longboat Key. It specializes in covering news, real estate and events on Longboat Key as well as providing comprehensive coverage of the region's arts and social scenes. In 1997, the company started The Gulf Coast Business Review. TheGulf Coast Business Review is Southwest Florida's weekly newspaperfor Trends,Companies, Entrepreneurs and Law. It began as a twice-monthly business papercovering Sarasota and Manatee counties, with its focus on relevant coverageof business and economic trends, corporate strategies, profiles ofentrepreneurs.In 1998, The Longboat Observer Inc. launched the weekly East CountyObserver to serve the fast-growing suburban areas of east Manatee and Sarasotacounties.In five years, The East County Observer has surpassed The LongboatObserver in weekly distribution, with 23,000 weekly circulation and morethan 46,000 readers.