A local publication for Pompano Beach residents. The news you should be getting but aren’t.

Run from her home office in Pompano Beach, Real Pompano is for people who want local news without endless popups, misleading clickbait headlines or depressing, pointless stories.

We produce the type of local journalism that is both informative and enjoyable to read — including investigative long reads, opinionated columns about the biggest local talking points, hidden resources and advice for residents as well as fun stuff, like our “Singles of the week” feature.

We believe in the power of unbiased, fact-based reporting and good writing rather than chasing clicks, and we particularly focus on giving our readers the context they need to understand what’s really happening in Pompano Beach. We know you’re already inundated with information, so we purposely focus on quality rather than quantity.

Who’s behind it?

That would be me… Lauren Holliday. I’m a Pompano Beach native of 35 years. I basically grew up at Kester Park, where my little brother played baseball from the ripe age of 10. I attended St. Coleman’s and Cardinal Gibbons High School, and I studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. My first internship, in 2011, was at the Sun Sentinel.

Why Real Pompano?

The current media landscape around Pompano Beach is bleak.

There’s the Sun Sentinel, where every story is blocked by a paywall, even the need-to-know ones, and if you do pay for it, you’re inundated with popups and ads, so many that you can’t even read the story you paid for.

Then, of course, there’s WSVN and Channel 7 News, which is extremely depressing, with no purpose, like sad dog story depressing. There’s also a ton of coverage about local shootings, reported from the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO). Then, the same stories are played on loop from hour-to-hour, with no new updates or fresh information.

There’s also The Pelican, which is just a little dry to me anyway, and the stories are not all that important. It’s basically like a local PR magazine.

Lastly, there are Instagram accounts by influencers, or moreso, travel influencers, that tell you the best places to eat and things to do in south Florida, but they’re a little cheesy and more for tourists than locals.

Real Pompano will fill in the gaps for Pompano Beach residents.

We put readers first with user-centric design.

Not only am I a published writer and journalist, but I’m also a website designer, who understands the value of user-experience (UX) design and always puts the user (or reader) first.

That means, no pop-ups or overbearing ads. You’ll be able to enjoyably read Real Pompano, without being forced to leave because the site crashes your computer from all the pop-ups.

Real Pompano is for the common local, by the common local.

Real Pompano is solely owned by Lauren Holliday — who as I mentioned earlier, is a Pompano Beach native and resident.

I will NOT hide any stories, as all of the other media outlets do.

I am accessible, empathetic and caring. This is not just a get-rich quick scheme for me. I’m doing this because I love to write, especially about things others aren’t, and I love doing a better job than everyone else at it, and I truly, wholeheartedly believe this publication is more than needed in Pompano.

If I thought current publications were doing a good, fair and unbiased job, then I wouldn’t waste my time, because I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and I only like to do things to solve uncared for problems.

Our stories will be well-researched, in-depth and important.

There will be no sad dog stories for the sake of sad dog stories or depressing news with no purpose.

That’s not to say there won’t be any hard-hitting, investigative, originally researched journalism that other publications won’t cover because it upsets people.

We’re not all serious though. There will be fun stuff too.

If you know me, you’ll know I’m equally serious and fun.

I’m only serious when I need to be — about important issues that I’m passionate about and need to be heard and taken seriously.

But I’m just as fun and personable as I am serious, when the timing is right, which is most of the time.

So while there will be hard-hitting journalism in Real Pompano, hence the “real” in our name, most of the time, there will also be a lot of fun stuff, such as “Singles of the Week” as well as more goodwill type pieces, “Help a local,” and fun, original data stories based on original surveys, like “How hard is it to find love in Pompano Beach? 14,000 residents respond.”

There will be happy, feel-good news, such as happy animal stories, and cool real estate highlights, such as “The Most Expensive Homes in Pompano Beach,” with insider video tours.

And lastly, there will be useful links to resources and advice for locals that most people don’t know are even accessible to them. I also want to spot local trends before everyone else, like the new run clubs popping up all over Instagram. I’ll review the top ones, and let you know which ones are the best.

These are just a few of the categories of content I plan to publish with Real Pompano.

Don’t be shy. Click subscribe!

If you’re excited, please subscribe below, and you’ll receive an email when we launch.

If you’re a writer, have a tip or just want to say hello or get involved, don’t hesitate to email me at realpompanobeach@gmail.com. :)