Featured App: 352today by Saga Communications
352today “delivers free local community news, information, and investigative journalism to North Central Florida” from 352today.com, which calls itself your source for free local news in the 352 area code. There is no subscription and no fee. Built with AppPresser, the app puts the newsroom’s coverage of Ocala, Gainesville and Marion County in one free download.
In this featured app spotlight, we take a closer look at the team behind 352today, what the app does, who it serves, and why it is such a strong example of what happens when a WordPress site and a mobile app work together.
Who Is Behind Saga Communications
352today is the news division of North Central Florida Media (NCFM), the Ocala based group owned by Saga Communications. Saga began operations in 1986 and has been publicly traded since December 1992 (NASDAQ: SGA). In Ocala, NCFM is home to 93.7 K-Country, The Outlaw and 92.5/95.5 Wind-FM, and from its studios on East Fort King Street it has served the region as a broadcaster for decades.
NCFM launched 352today.com in late summer 2023 as “an online venue for free, unbiased local news from Ocala, Marion County and the surrounding area.” The debut came a week earlier than planned so the new newsroom could cover Hurricane Idalia. “Establishing a news division is a natural extension of the community connection we have long provided as broadcasters,” said Howard Tuuri, then NCFM Vice President and General Manager. “The 352today mission is to provide timely, relevant, trusted, and unbiased local news and information, for free.” The App Store app followed that October.
Today, 352today says its reporters “live here and are deeply invested in the stories that shape our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses.” Scott Harrell has led the newsroom as Editor-in-Chief since 2025, and in April 2026 Saga promoted Lisa Varner to Vice President and General Manager of NCFM after Tuuri retired, a move covered by Radio Ink. NCFM’s Director of Digital, Whitney Zarder, has been recognized several times by Radio Ink as one of the country’s top digital sales professionals. The site is online at 352today.com.
What the 352today App Does
The 352today app organizes the newsroom’s reporting in a simple four tab layout: Top Stories, Recent Stories, Sections and Listen Live. Every article comes straight from the 352today WordPress site, so a story published in the newsroom shows up in the app right away.
Here are the main areas the app covers:
- Optional breaking news alerts, so major North Central Florida stories reach your phone the moment they break.
- Top Stories, a feed that leads with the day’s most important local reporting in large photo cards.
- Recent Stories, the newest articles in the order they were published.
- Sections for Business, Community, Crime, Education, Equine, Lifestyle, Local, Photos, Video and more.
- Weather and traffic updates, one of the key features the App Store listing promises.
- Beyond the news coverage of entertainment, lifestyle and the region’s horse country.
- Listen Live, with streams of Wind-FM and 93.7 K-Country.
- A share button on every story for sending it to friends and neighbors.
What makes 352today distinctive is its sense of place. The app carries an Equine section because Ocala and Marion County are known around the world for horses, and it pairs the newsroom’s written coverage with the radio stations local listeners already know. Readers can follow a hurricane forecast, check an eclipse viewing guide and then tap over to hear Wind-FM, all in one app and all for free.
App Screenshots
Here is a look at the app. Use the arrows or the numbered buttons to move through the screenshots.
Test Drive the App
The best way to understand 352today is to try it. Download the free app, turn on breaking news alerts, open the Equine section, then tap Listen Live to hear Wind-FM or K-Country.
Key Features That Stand Out
Top Stories
Top Stories opens the app with North Central Florida’s biggest news in large cards that show a headline, a photo and a short summary. In the screenshots, that means a guide to watching the October annular eclipse and the April 2024 total eclipse, followed by a Citrus County Sheriff’s Office story. It is a quick way to see what matters locally before the day gets going.
Recent Stories
Recent Stories lists the newsroom’s latest articles in order, so readers who check in several times a day can see only what is new. Each card shows the headline, the image and the opening lines of the story. It keeps the app as current as the website itself.
Every Section
The Sections tab turns the site’s categories into a tidy column of buttons: All, Business, Community, Crime, Education, Equine, Lifestyle, Local, Photos, Video and more. Each button opens that part of the coverage. Readers can go straight to the topics they care about without scrolling through everything else.
Listen Live
The Listen Live tab brings NCFM’s radio stations into the app, starting with Wind-FM, the iconic rock station at 92.5 Gainesville and 95.5 Ocala, followed by K-Country. A single button starts each live stream. It means 352today readers are always one tap away from the local voices they already know.
At a Glance
- Free local news for Ocala, Gainesville, Marion County and the rest of the 352 area code, with no subscription or fees.
- From North Central Florida Media, part of Saga Communications.
- Optional breaking news alerts, plus weather and traffic updates.
- Top Stories, Recent Stories and Sections tabs, including an Equine section.
- Live streams of Wind-FM and K-Country.
- Available on iPhone and iPad.
- Powered by the 352today WordPress site through AppPresser.
Who 352today Serves
352today is built first for the people of North Central Florida. Whether you live in Ocala, Gainesville, Belleview or the smaller communities across Marion County, the app keeps you informed about local government, public safety, schools, roads and business without a paywall.
It is especially useful when the weather turns. The newsroom launched early to cover Hurricane Idalia, and the site’s Forecast and Hurricane Weather Center coverage, together with optional breaking news alerts, help families keep up when a storm is on the way.
It also serves the region’s radio audience and anyone who loves the area’s way of life. Wind-FM and K-Country listeners can stream their station from the same app they use to read the news, and the Equine, Lifestyle and Community sections make the app as useful for finding something to do on the weekend as it is for following the headlines.
Technology Behind the App
352today is powered by its own WordPress site, 352today.com.
The app is built from WordPress, and WordPress drives it. Every story is published on the WordPress site, and AppPresser carries that content straight into the app, so updates made on the site show up in the app without a separate system to manage.
Looking at the site itself, these are the platforms behind the experience:
WordPress, the foundation for the newsroom. WordPress is the open source content management system that powers more websites than any other platform.
Gravity Forms, for the site’s forms. Gravity Forms is a WordPress form builder plugin used for contact forms, registrations and more.
Saga News Theme, a custom WordPress theme built for Saga Communications news sites.
WP Google Maps, for maps. WP Google Maps is a WordPress maps plugin.
EWWW Image Optimizer, for image speed. EWWW is a WordPress image optimization plugin.
AppPresser, which turns the WordPress site into the mobile app. AppPresser is a mobile app builder that creates native iOS and Android apps from a WordPress site.
What 352today Shows About AppPresser
Saga Communications runs 352today on WordPress, the same platform that powers the newsroom’s website. The app shows how AppPresser can take a busy WordPress news site with many categories and turn it into a fast, focused mobile experience with alerts, tabs and live audio.
It also shows how AppPresser fits a publisher working across many markets. 352today is one of several local news sites that Saga has launched alongside its radio stations around the country, and a WordPress based approach lets each newsroom offer its own app built on content it already publishes.
And it shows how quickly an app can follow a website. 352today.com launched in late summer 2023, and the app was on the App Store within weeks, giving a brand new newsroom a home on its readers’ phones almost from the start.
Congratulations to Lisa Varner, Scott Harrell, the 352today newsroom, North Central Florida Media and Saga Communications on building a free local news app for North Central Florida. We are proud to have AppPresser behind it.
Do You Want Your Own App?
If your organization already runs on WordPress, launching your app with AppPresser is simple. Your app pulls directly from the website you already manage, so every update you make to your site appears in your app automatically. Ready to get started on your app right now? Check out our pricing page.
Not on WordPress yet? AppPresser can still help. Our team can move your website onto WordPress and then set up your app, so everything works together from the start. And if you need something more tailored, from custom features to a completely custom app, our custom development services have you covered.
If you need help or have any questions, tell us about your organization and what you’d like your app to do, and we’ll get back to you with a clear answer on costs and next steps.
