More cutbacks coming at the Tampa Bay Times?

Heard that a prominent personality in Sports received notice today. Have not independently confirmed it, but if it's true, it's very disappointing news indeed.

It's not my place to identify this person, so please don't ask, but he/she has developed a sizable following.

Also heard to look for at least 10 people from the copy desk to be cut, with at least one from Sports.

It's getting serious, friends.

 

Uh oh. If my guess is correct, that really sucks. Well, it sucks no matter WHO it is.

 

More details learned today, according to my moles:

* Paper (all departments combined) must trim $5 million in expenses immediately.

* Each department has been given a salary cap. Trims will be made accordingly.

* Cuts will come from newsroom and printing plant. Ad team, as noted previously, not affected.

* Copy desks - including sports - targeted to lose about a dozen positions.

* Reporting positions also at risk. One name was announced yesterday. (Will update if it's public.)

* Possibly will see consolidation of the multiple neighborhood, regional and full-run editions.

 

There's a memo out, so the news is out:

Departing from Sports is John Cotey, who did interesting things on the preps beat, from video to social media, and developed a not-insubstantial following with a beat that many of us take for granted. I don't have much interest in prep sports myself, but I thought he did a lot of things that helped the Times become more of a go-to than the rival Tribune for local readers.

 

Cotey was also a damn good columnist and features writer. His departure will create a major hole in that department.

 

On the enterprise team, John Woodrow Cox left a few weeks ago and Jeff Klinkenberg announced he accepted a buyout. Two big losses.

 

Klinkenberg was one of the reasons to even open the Sunday paper, with his stories about off-the-beaten-trail Florida. He'll be missed ... 38 years at the paper.

Also announced, longtime business writer Kris Huntley is taking a buyout, as is longtime desker/team leader/jill of all trades Anne Glover.

Other changes forthcoming include going from four three main-run editions to two, cutting 10 editorial pages a day across the full run, and combining the Pasco and Hernando county sections into one. (Which will go over really well with those readers ... not.)


Updates to fix number of main-run editions and add another longtimer taking a buyout.

 

Has advertising improved at the Tampa Tribune? I would guess that loses money also since it just sold at a fire sale price. It is hard for me to believe both are publishing in two years.

And I understand that Tampa is a distinct community from from St Petersburg and each area deserves a separate newspaper. But the economic support no longer exists.

 

I can't speak for anyone at Tampa since I don't work there, but it seems like things have improved a bit in recent months. Page count seems to be decent and it looks like they're focusing on the product instead of how to slash it.

Anyone with other info?

 

By most accounts, the Tampa Tribune is in the black, or has stopped the hemorrhaging. There have been some layoffs this year and some strongly suggested retirements, but nothing like what the Times is facing. A lot of the Trib's debts went away when Media General sold it to Revolution Capital two years ago, and that means it has been able to do new things (such as launching a St. Petersburg edition and buying a weekly in the Times' back yard). They're doing a fair job of showing they want to do more and be more, whereas the Times is now clearly having to do less.

If the Tampa Bay area becomes a one-newspaper market -- and I fear that's more likely than ever -- it won't be that way for long. The readership trends are irreversible. Whoever is left won't gain many new advertisers because the two papers are largely duplicative. In one potential scenario being discussed, it might actually be a financial drain for one newspaper to serve the entire market without a commensurate increase in new advertising. It could, in the right condition, precipitate a no-newspaper market for at least half the region and puts a lot more emphasis on the online theater of operations, where they're competing more directly with TV stations and upstart media.