Florida Trend: 55th Anniversary
55 Years of Florida Trend
As the magazine turns 55, we review some interesting covers and the articles inside.
April 1962
Familiar Refrain
A quote from a National Association of Manufacturers representative in Florida Trend, complaining that “so many of our prospective employees have little or no understanding of the basic economic principles under which the free enterprise business system operates, and in which most of them will spend their working lives.”
The item went on to report that a survey had asked Florida high school students to complete the sentence: “The American business system cannot function without …” with one of four choices.
The results: 52% of the students picked “more government planning and control.” Only 28% chose “keeping the profit incentive alive.” 12% chose “reduction of taxes on business.”
January 1966
Liquid Assets
In recent years, Florida Trend has been closely identified with coverage of water-related issues. The magazine’s recognition of the importance of water goes back much further, beginning with this cover story in 1966. In the course of growing by some 4 million people between 1946 and 1966, Trend wrote, “through all those years, the saying has been: ‘One of the greatest things about Florida is its limitless resource of clean water.’ Well, it’s not limitless. And a lot of it is no longer clean.”
March 1976 / January 1993
Political Pairings
Florida Trend has a long history of provocative political coverage. The cover on the left shows Don Tucker, speaker of the Florida House, and Dempsey Barron, president of the Senate, playing chess. It anticipated a slightly different pairing of two political figures, Gov. Lawton Chiles and Associated Industries President John Schebel.
