More cutbacks coming at the Tampa Bay Times?

Here's how I see that playing out ...

Scenario 1: The Times defaults on the loan and the Boston financiers go to court, force bankruptcy proceedings and the paper is auctioned off.

Scenario 2: Just before the Times defaults on the loan, it finds a partner investor, repays the debt, and its long legacy of family/independent ownership goes into history.

In both scenarios, I do not see the Times able to pay back its loansharks, er, financiers on its own through layoffs, furloughs, travel freezes, property sales, etc.

 

Yeah, I don't see how they can come up with that much money, but they'll probably find a way to avoid anything catastrophic.

 

Late word: There's no ambiguity about layoffs. Executives have told some employees tonight that there will be "significant" cuts coming to the copy desk.

 

Does letterman's sister still work at the times?

Maybe she could convince her brother to come to the rescue.

 

She does. Gretchen Letterman, a former features editor, works in the community development department and oversees a publication produced by local high school students.

(Or did, as of earlier this year.)

 

It's supposed to be scary. They want to scare people out of the building to reduce choices about layoffs.

 

Although it's not much, the paper in Murfreesboro is Gannett, and it's only 30 miles away. They probably share some preps and MTSU coverage. It's a help but not much.

 

Dead-on accurate.

 

The Times's Ben Montgomery said on the twitterz machine this morning he was unaware of a staff meeting that had the publisher/editor type telling people it was time to bail.

Said it could have happened at a bureau but not at the main building.

 

I don't think they'd be telling him to bail anyway. And if he had to, it wouldn't take him long. Hell, anybody'd hire him.

 

That really is spot-on, sad as it is to say.