RICK OUTZEN  is the publisher and owner of Pensacola Inweekly, an alt- weekly newspaper that published its first issue on July 1, 1999.

Six years later, he launched his blog, aptly named “Rick’s Blog,” that quickly became one of the most influential blogs in the state of Florida.

His reporting for The Daily Beast on the Billings murders, a double-homicide that garnered national attention, earned him a profile in The New York Times . He was also featured on Dateline NBC’s segment on the murders, “No Safe Place.”

Rick also covered the BP oil spill for The Daily Beast, earning international attention for unraveling the oil company’s spin on the disaster. He was interviewed by MSNBC, CNN, CBC-TV, and Al Jazeera English.

He was a finalist for the Sunshine State Awards for investigative reporting for his coverage of the failed turnaround effort of a middle school in the Escambia County Public School District.

His 2018 debut novel, City of Grudges, was honored by the Florida Writers Association and Killer Nashville. In 2014 he self-published a digital book on his “Outtakes” columns: I’m That Guy: Collected Columns of a Southern Journalist.

Rick grew up in the Mississippi Delta and graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he served as student body president and was selected to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. He has lived in the Pensacola, Florida area since 1982.