Florence Anthony (1952 – 2026)

Their Story

Florence "Flo" Anthony was a trailblazing entertainment journalist and media personality who opened doors for generations of African American reporters in the male-dominated world of celebrity journalism. A Howard University graduate from East Harlem, she began her career in the 1970s and 1980s as a publicist for boxing legends including Muhammad Ali, Michael Spinks, and Larry Holmes, before transitioning into entertainment journalism in the mid-1980s. She became the first African American reporter to work on the New York Post's legendary Page Six department and the first African American to write a column for The National Examiner. Throughout her four-decade career, Anthony became one of America's most recognizable entertainment journalists. She broke hundreds of major stories, including celebrity marriages and adoptions that shaped pop culture conversation. Beyond print, she hosted nationally syndicated radio programs that reached millions of listeners daily, made regular appearances on television shows and news networks, and authored four suspense novels that drew on her decades of insider knowledge. She served as CEO of her media company, Dottie Media Group LLC, and as publisher and editor-in-chief of Black Noir Magazine. Anthony's journalism was marked not by sensationalism but by responsibility to accuracy and fairness. She viewed her role as a reporter who broke legitimate stories, earning respect from colleagues across the industry for her integrity. In January 2026, she married boxing legend Michael Spinks, whom she had dated since 1987, in a ceremony at a New York City courthouse. Her legacy extends far beyond the stories she reported—she fundamentally changed the landscape of entertainment journalism by proving that an African American woman could be authoritative, trusted, and central to national conversations about celebrity culture.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flo_Anthony