By Bryce Abshier
As Marion County continues to rapidly grow, so too has its hometown newspaper. Since early 2023, the Voice of South Marion has undergone a period of notable expansion, marked by broader readership, increased visibility, expanded publishing responsibilities and deeper engagement across both print and digital platforms.
While the mission of the Voice remains rooted in local reporting and community service, the scope of how that mission is delivered has changed significantly over the past three years.
Advertising Participation and Print Stability
While many small newspapers across Florida and the country have experienced declines in print participation, the Voice has maintained strong advertiser involvement, supported by steady circulation and expanded reach.
Since 2023, the paper has seen increased participation from regional advertisers, including law firms, realtors and local businesses seeking consistent exposure within South Marion and surrounding areas. Multi-week advertising commitments have become more common, showing confidence in the paper’s growing audience and distribution.
At the same time, the Voice (as always) has produced a full weekly print edition, preserving the traditional newspaper format that many residents rely on while also strengthening its digital presence.
Digital Readership Growth
The most dramatic changes over the last few years have occurred online.
In early 2023, the Voice’s website averaged roughly 300 monthly visitors. By 2025, monthly traffic has climbed to approximately 15,000 visitors, showing a major expansion in audience reach and online visibility.
Digital subscriptions followed a similar trajectory. Since 2023, subscription sign-ups have increased by more than 1,000 percent, demonstrating that readers are not only finding the paper online but actively choosing to stay connected to it.
Digital content remains free to access, and this growth has helped the Voice reach new readers who may not have previously encountered the paper in print.
Social Media Engagement and Community Reach
Social media has become an increasingly important channel for local news, and the Voice’s presence has expanded accordingly. Since 2023, the paper’s social media following has grown from under 2,500 followers to approximately 20,000, more than an eightfold increase. This growth has allowed stories, announcements and community updates to reach residents well beyond the traditional print audience.
During periods of heightened interest, including major local events and breaking news, the Voice’s social content has generated high engagement, with posts and videos reaching hundreds of thousands of users and prompting active discussion within the community.
A defining feature of the Voice’s growth since 2023 has been a surge in social media engagement, particularly through short-form video content shared on Facebook. Over the past year, several locally focused reels reached audiences throughout Marion County, drawing tens of thousands, and in some cases hundreds of thousands, of views. Posts highlighting community change, public safety, development and the unexpected consistently resonated with readers. Among the most widely viewed were coverage of apparent sinkhole activity near new houses in Belleview with 128,000 views, the demolition of Belleview Hardware marking the end of an era at 95,000 views, reports of wild monkeys captured on a Ring camera at 125,000 views, and a bear spotted in a Belleview Heights tree at 77,000 views.
Infrastructure and growth stories also proved to be major drivers of engagement. A reel addressing proposed statewide front license plates and local reaction drew 81,000 views, while coverage of planned improvements to Interstate 75 reached 347,000 views, making it one of the most viewed pieces of content the Voice has ever published. Development news continued to generate strong interest as well, including a post detailing the approval of 442 single-family homes near Belleview, which reached 95,000 views.
Since 2023, the Voice has consistently delivered a faster turnaround on time-sensitive stories, expanded coverage of public meetings and civic issues, increased coordination with photographers and contributors, and reliable weekly print production. Taken together, the changes reflect more than numerical growth. They illustrate a newspaper adapting to modern readership habits while remaining rooted in its local mission. At a time when many local newspapers face contraction, the Voice’s trajectory demonstrates that community journalism can grow when it remains local, accessible and engaged.
As South Marion looks toward the future, the Voice enters the next chapter with a broader audience, expanded responsibilities and a deeper connection to its readers. From our newsroom to your kitchen table, we wish our readers a very happy New Year and thank you for continuing to make the Voice part of your weekly routine.
