Media Mogul Is Living Black History

By Mark SpainFirst Coast NewsJACKSONVILLE, FL -- Clara McLaughlin knew at an early age journalism was her thing."I decided we needed a newspaper at my high school in Gainesville. So I passed out my newspaper every week," said McLaughlin.Today she is the Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of Northeast Florida's oldest African-American owned newspaper "The Florida Star."In college at Howard University, McLaughlin pushed the school to create a journalism program. "I got to Howard and we didn't have a journalism major. So I protested to get that started. And we won that one too," she said.With the media bug running through her blood, she wanted and got more. "I watch television every day and I did not feel it was really meeting the needs of women and minorities," McLaughlin said.In 1984, McLaughlin became the first African-American woman to build, own and operate a television station in the U.S. "I didn't even know I was the first until I read it in the paper," she remarked with a laugh.From Texas to the First Coast, McLaughlin is blazing trails. "Right now we're focusing on the Jacksonville market. We want to help clear any problems. And that's our job," she said.McLaughlin also launched The Georgia Star for residents in south Georgia at the beginning of the year.