Half of Employees at WFLA-Ch. 8, Tampa Tribune and Other Tampa-Area Outlets Offered Buyouts By Media General Subsidiary

UPDATE: Florida Communications Group president John Schueler confirmed to me moments ago that the company will offer buyouts to half its 1,326 employees, including people who work at WFLA-Ch. 8, TBO.com, The Tampa Tribune Spanish-language CENTRO, Hernando Today, Sunbelt Newspapers and a host of other smaller daily and weekly newspapers.

Schueler said it was an alignment of the Media General-owned company that would save money and meld responsibilities of staffers across their various media platforms in the same way their "convergence" efforts share news material. For example, the president and publisher of the Tampa Tribune, Denise Palmer, is now responsible for content across all the FCG platforms. The president and general manager of WFLA, Mike Pumo, is now responsible for revenues across all platforms, and their operations at all platforms will also be centralized under a single vice president.

Schueler said staffers can request to be part of the buyout, becoming eligible for either one week of salary per year of service up to 26 weeks or 2 weeks per year up to 39 weeks, depending on their position within the company. He expects to spend two weeks analyzing the requests and their possible impact before informing employees whether they will accept the requests.

Some positions will be excluded from the offer, which the company is calling a Voluntary Reduction in Force program and has an April 25 deadline. Schueler couldn't say whether any of the company's platforms would be cut back or reduced to fit the smaller workforce.

Schueler also said the scope of employees who are eligible for the buyout does not indicate the number of employees who might be cut under the program, and he denied rumors that specific employees were being told to take the buyout or their jobs likely would be eliminated.

He also denied the program was a response to continued talk about the Florida properties' impact on Media General stock price, following a challenge from hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners. (UPDATE END)

A spokesman for Media General has just confirmed what I've been hearing from anonymous tipsters all day: That the Media General company which owns its Tampa area news outlets is offering buyouts to select employees, beginning today.

The Florida Communications Group, which includes the Tampa Tribune, WFLA-Ch. 8, TBO.com, the Spanish-language CENTRO and a host of other smaller daily and weekly newspapers, announced what it calls a Voluntary Reduction in Force program. Employees are receiving packets with information on the program structure and timeline, with Q&A sessions scheduled at the beginning of this week to answer questions.

This news follows Media General's growing conflict with Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund seeking to force three directors of its choosing onto their board. One of the few things Harbinger and Media General have agreed on is the impact of the recession in Florida, which both sides say have pulled down the company's revenues.

Harbinger issued a press release this morning touting proxy services company Glass Lewis' endorsement of one person nominated by the hedge fund for Media General's board, J. Daniel Sullivan.

All this news comes as the Society of Professional Journalists announced a 2007 Sigma Delta Chi Award in deadline reporting, online, given to the staffs of TBO.com, WFLA and the Tampa Tribune for their joint "converged" reporting on storms in central Florida.

More to come....

Comments

[Jamie]

I spent more than a year working in the Tribune newsroom and left with good memories and the satisfaction that I'd done my job well. But what's happening there now is happening at newspapers across the U.S. I hate seeing it happen to the people who are still there and trying to put out a quality newspaper with the knowledge that their jobs are in jeopardy.

[dreaming]

the thing is, unless you live in japan where you can have a job for life if you don't really screw up, no one in the good old usa is owed anything by their employers, no matter how 'loyal' you have been as an employee.

they paid you didn't they? i mean, you would not have showed up for 8 years if you weren't getting what you wanted out of the deal.

so when the end comes, just remember, it's just business. maybe it's not smart business. but it's just business.

[Eric Deggans]

To the unknown Tribune employee: i can't imagine what you are going through right now. I hve worked at another paper where something similar happened, and it is always a traumatic experience -- for those who leave and for those who are lucky enough to remain.

I'm not sure if this helps, but you must realize that, at this point, if you are laid off it has little to do with your abilities or achievements. If the Tribune is anything like the Times, you have already culled the staff of people who are obviously not cutting it. Staff reductions now fall on people unlucky enough to have jobs the company feels it can safely reduce.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you remember that you have done the best you can. What happens now is likely beyond your control.

[bulletinizer]

Pick yourself up. Brush yourself off. Get on with it. You are Americans and this is America. Suck it up, it happens to us all...

[Tigergator]

The unfortunate thing is that many other businesses, companies, etc. in this country have had the same thing happen. When people lost jobs, some big shot "expert" would talk about how that's the way the economy works, and that the economy would grow still. But not for the poor hard working folks who lost their jobs. Golden parachutes and benefits for the higher ups ....while the average workers get screwed. Shame shame on the execs and greedy boards.

I'm a Tribune employee of eight years who has always exceeded performance levels. I've been proud of what I've done as a Tribune employee, and by all accounts, my managers have been equally proud. Somehow, though, and despite my best efforts, I find myself faced with either a voluntary separation, or a possible eventual layoff.

How, then, do I rectify what I know I've done to satisfaction with what I've recently learned--namely that despite my performance, I can still be more or less "canned" due to no fault of my own, and thanks to the economy.

Maybe I still subscribe to the edicts of my parents and grandparents, but at this point all I can say is that it feels a little like getting a postcard up the butt: "Thanks so much for being loyal to the company that hired you. We wish you were here, really, but we just can't repay the favor of your dedication, and we also just can't keep you on. Good luck, kiss-kiss, and be seeing you! Love, Us."

[John]

I wonder which media company will be next with layoffs?

-John
www.patrioticactivist.com

[Mark A. Hart]

Having lost my first job in a Chicago Tribune downsizing and gotten my second when Gannett started USA Today, I can tell you that changing fortunes in the news business are nothing new. I'd write a book about it if former Tribune editor Jim Squires hadn't already do so - "Read All About It: The Corporate Takeover of America's Newspapers."

[Me]

Interesting timing, as MG ponies up untold dollars to be "official sponsor of the Super Bowl host committee."
http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/04/14/daily4.html?f=et83&ana=e_du

[Andrew]

Every day there's news like this. Some days I wish I'd chosen another way to make a living other than reporting, but damn it, I love this too much to let go.

And for those who say, "Good!" in the posts near the top of this thread, may you rot in Hell. You've probably never experienced the heartbreak of a buyout or a layoff, experiences which tear at the fiber of someone who loves what he or she does and turn lives asunder.

[Tigergator]

This is an industry in trouble. Many good people are going to be hurt. Most of those people do care about the readers and viewers they serve, and are frustrated by what has happened.

[Kevin Coughlin]

This type of news is indicative not only the economy, but the state of the news gathering industry, particularly print journalism nationwide.
Quite a few bloggers here complain about the quality of the news they receive. The truth is, you get what you pay for: Corporate America is trying to keep costs down, so getting rid of their high-paid journalists for lesser experienced, entry level journalists is affecting their bottom line.
Less people are buying the paper and getting only the skimpy free content online. As a result, classified advertising is down and so are a newspaper's profits...To hear the cuts Media General is imposing on the Tampa Trib and its multimedia partners sends a signal that the ENTIRE industry is in trouble.

[Dale]

If Sam Zell calls, PLEASE, NOBODY ANSWER.
I remember back when Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale had newspapers.
Good newspapers.
Ahh, those were the days.
Now they're both gone forever. Replaced by 'shoppers.'
Tampa Bay has two newspapers. Enjoy them while you can.

[Dale]

Oops. I Meant to vilify Sam Zell.
See his video address to the Orlando Sentinel employees on Youtube.

[Dale]

If Zell Miller calls, PLEASE, NOBODY ANSWER.
I remember back when Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale had newspapers.
Good newspapers.
Ahh, those were the days.
Now they're both gone forever. Replaced by 'shoppers.'
Tampa Bay has two newspapers. Enjoy them while you can.

[Karen]

Too bad that the management at the Tribune gets to blame the economy for their ineptness.

[Josie]

Let's hope they go under and we can have free airwaves again. Hopefully all the top people take it first!

[Bob Andelman]

Wow. This is so sad. It's not even something the Times can excited about because nobody wins here. Nobody.

[Joe]

If they treated their employees with respect, they wouldn't be in such financial difficulty. I'm glad I'm not working there anymore.

[Jon M]

Forever live Hugh Smith! Anyone remember him from CH 13 before Fox?

[ed]

As someone who took a buyout, I can testify that no one cares a fig about who is providing the content. We might wish otherwise, but the average reader doesn't know the difference between a wire story and a staff story. These buyouts are needed because the Bryan family can't make their future payments on their $700 million in debt without them. They made a very foolish investment in Florida TV just about the time Fla's economy began to tank. It's continuing to tank now, and the revenues that made this purchase viable just aren't there. They won't be there. So it's the Bryans who ruined the Tampa Tribune and the other properties. By the way, these layoffs are just the first phase, IMO. After taking one bite from the apple, they will be back for more. I would vote my stock for Harbinger simply on the grounds they would force a quicker resolution of what is going to be a dragged out period of misery.

FOX13 will eventually own the market as the weak media properties continue to falter. They already have the best news and weather around.

[dreaming]

um, a week's pay per year of service?
gee, don't look for too many takers of that great offer.
of course, the next step after no one takes the buyout will be more layoffs...
stay tuned.

[Seminolerick]

Having been on the sidelines, watching 'RIF's and later being a victim of one... you learn that they are a last ditch flailing by management who have no clue as to what is the right thing to do... A 'RIF' tends to eliminate the veterans in the trenches, and their associated higher salaries, BUT, the lower paid interns/rookies fall on their faces when trying to keep things running,much less improve goings on.
Remember how great Eastman Kodak WAS ?
Their constant use of 'RIF's vs. hunting down the real problem led to their demise !

[Peter]

Do they have any staff left at the Trib? 95% of all thier content is AP wire stories. The rest is ads.

[drinklime]

I'm sure these corporations will make their decisions based on the best interests of the communities they serve.

[Tiffany]

Good, get rid of that creep Steve Jerve, and then go for Guyardo! Get rid of them please!

[Chris]

Let's hope Guyardo got a buyout and accepted it.

[hows your career]

1st Bob now Gayle?
we can only hope

[Lin]

Hmm, and what does someone familiar with hedge funds know about news media?

Grief. The people who want to nominate board members, as well as the prospective board members themselves, probably don't even read newspapers or watch network news. I think that because of my own experiences shortly before I aborted a career in financial planning after obtaining my federal securities licenses when I discovered that, unlike me, all my financially "savvy" coworkers got all their news in 15 minutes a day from CNN. Which is probably why they didn’t object to sticking to canned sales presentations as well as scripted answers to any possible question about whatever financial product a customer was buying, it was easier for them than having to put things in their own words because they literally didn’t have words, the world of words, like the world of news was alien to them.

News of these buyouts and the fight over the board is a sad day for the Tampa Tribune, TBO.com, WFLA and the people who enjoy reading and watching the news those award-winning organizations produce.

[George]

The large print offices are a thing of the past. Given the in the minute update of the connected world, a large staff of reporters becomes redundant. My only concern is that the people who take the offer are the ones who can find a job somewhere else, leaving the deadwood behind.

[John F.]

You guys had an article late last week abut the proxy fight between Media General and a Hedge Fund. In that article, there was a quote from a Media General staff member saying the hedge fund was short sighted with regards to business.

Anyone paying attention to the antics at the Trib and WFLA the last few years can see Media General is as guilty of this as anyone. They want to boost the stock price so they cut corners to raise profits. Layoff staff, cut back sections of their news coverage, and have to find more ways to cut back.

A third party needs to swoop in and buy the Trib and WFLA. That or the Times can rejoice in being Tampa Bay's only legit print outlet...