Will the Tampa Tribune soon feature just one section on weekdays?

My inbox has been buzzing with rumors that the Tampa Tribune may soon begin publishing as a one-section broadsheet newspaper weekdays, with very few stories "jumping" or continuing off the front page. Under this scenario, weekend papers would remain the same and some specialized sections might also publish on Wednesdays.

I asked Tribune Executive Editor Janet Coats about the rumor, and she declined to speak about specifics.

"We're looking at a number of options regarding resectioning and redesigning," said Coats, who noted she expected conversations on possible options to gain steam in Tampa and at owner Media General's Richmond, Va., headquarters after Labor Day.

"I think everybody's looking at paging," she added, noting the impact of redesigns at Tribune Co. newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and Chicago Tribune. "Changes to the paper that we deliver, you're constantly looking at that now. But that's one of those things where, when we come to a final decision, I'll be talking my readers and not yours first."

The news comes amid a tremendous amount of change in the newspaper industry, locally and elsewhere. The Tribune laid off three photojournalists Thursday, with plans to lay off up to 10 editors by the beginning of October (the number may be lower, because some people have voluntarily left the staff recently for new opportunities).

At the St. Petersburg Times, some of the last folks who took advantage of our enhanced retirement buyout left the staff today; 26 people in our newsroom took advantage of the program, among 201 people leaving overall. That means our total full-time journalism staff is now at 320 people, down from about 400 five years ago.

In South Florida, competitors the Miami Herald, The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beach Post have announced a three-month trial to share "routine news and features." Miami Herald executive editor Anders Gyllenhaal said the shared stories will be "something that's happened in the last 24 hours or is about to happen in the next 24 hours."   

So things are changing everywhere. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes sharp and inbox uncluttered.

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Comments

[HONG KONG WILLIE]

tampa tribune soon to be dinosaur. hong kong willie

[No Longer a Trib employee]

I used to work for the Trib. I can say FIRST HAND the LAST thing they think about is the people who work for them, or the readers. They look at numbers, only numbers. When they came out with the VERY ill-fated Orange magazine, they consulted NO ONE! Then once the "Orange" was rolling, they selected a few of us, "younger-alternative" people to ask us what we thought of the magazine and why it wasn't being well received. We told them, it has a lot to do with the INTERNET. If there is a party, club, concert, thing to do, kids are getting that info on the net LONG before it was hitting the pages of the ORANGE magazine. Then to top it off when th editor wanted to push the edgy stuff, they were pulling it for fear of offending their readers... well it spelled disaster. Then you have those who complain about jobs being sent overseas... the GRAPHIC DESIGN positions, the back bone of the company behind the sales reps, the people who design the "Award Winning Advertisement" ALL of those jobs have been outsourced to INDIA.

I personally hated working there, HATED the corporate culture of treating the employees like Crap, and maybe some of you reading this will think it's just bitter grapes talking but I am glad I got out before they really started treating the employees like low wage slave labor. They are putting the screws to their employees left and right and the Guy at the top MORTON, he's no better than the WAMU CEO. He got 2 Million last year and the company is in the RED. How does that work? He had the company paying for his Personal Security, His Box Seats, His GYM MEMBERSHIP, His Car, and so forth on top of his $900,000 salary which was 18% higher than the year before. Meanwhile the average raise for yours truly and everyone else? 2% And you were LUCKY if they gave it to you on time. I was MONTHS behind EVERY YEAR on my raise, and they DIDN'T RETRO!!!! Yeah great company... I can't wait to dance when they finally flame out.

[Eric62]

Not tabloid, not broadsheet. The new buzzword is "Berliner,'' like a lot of Euro-papers are formatted. Shorter and narrower than a broadsheet, but bigger than a traditional tabloid. Saves paper, but still looks, feels and folds like a traditional paper.

[.]

I've been told that the Trib may go to a tabloid early next year, at least for the weekday papers.

[dreaming]

50 cents?

you cannot be serious. granted, 50 cents doesn't buy much today. but it certainly won't be buying the truncated, eviscerated, emasculated and slowly evaporating tampa tribune.

if the media general folks really want to save the thing and generate a lot more ad revenue, they'd go free, like tbt, and maybe then people would bother to pick it up and skim it.

[Billy]

Hey Carl: I am aware the Times went to 50 cents. That is old news. Please read my original post again.

I was talking about a completely DIFFERENT paper, the Tampa Tribune, going to 50 cents. Which just happened. Yesterday. In Tampa.

This is a important story for local media blog to cover. Thanks for you concern anyway.

[The Carl]

Hey Billy: Times already did it in Tampa, matching their single-copy price in St. Pete. As long as you're logged on the innernets, why don't you catch up on current news! I'd say Gustav tearing up the Louisiana coast is "significant," not this.

[Eric Deggans]

Eric is on vacation for Labor Day -- I'll have a post tomorrow...

[Billy]

HUGE STORY: ERIC WHERE'S YOUR COVERAGE???

Tampa Tribune raised its daily single copy price to 50 cents as of Labor Day.

What's the reaction? I want to see some reporting on this significant change.

[joe hillman]

whoops. i meant "the edward smith of executive editors."

[joe hillman]

a tabloid format might actually make sense. that's probably why the brilliant journalistic mind that is janet coats (the edward smith of managing editors) won't try it.

i mean, why not try it? it's not like the tribune is on it's deathbed. oh, wait...

No. rumor is broadsheet, one section....

[Bob Andelman]

By "one section," is it possible the Tribune is thinking tabloid?

There comes a time in an business when reality must triumph over optimism...and sometimes even over survival.

Newspapers in the U.S., without exception, have been late to the party when it comes to doing what is necessary to fix their broken industry model.

Now, with the pressures of rapidly dwindling audiences and revenues, newspapers are in total reaction mode. All of the larger markets, at least. Some of the smaller guys (10,000-30,000 subscribers) reportedly are holding their own. For now.

Cutting content (which remarkably is about the only asset a newpsaper has to offer) is almost beyond dumb. With less content due to space and staff reductions, what value is left for a newspaper to sell?

The newspaper industry has followed the path to destruction that railroads did back in the early 20th century. Railroad leaders thought they were in the railroad business and ignored the fact they were in the transportation business. As a result, they slept while airplanes rew right past them and almost knocked them off the map. Certainly they never again were anywhere near as big a force as they once were.

Newspapers have slept while the digital age came blowing past them, and now it appears too late to catch up. Newspaper leaders feel they arein the newspaper business when they really have always been in the audience business and the audience is moving to digital.

Does Tampa need two daily newspapers? Why divide the eroding resources of a market when one could have done the job?

Rather than prolong the agony, the Tribune needs to shut down and admit they've lost the race. Free up what little revenue resources they take out of the market and hopefully the Times and other media can mop it up and at least create a semi-stronger local media.

Message to the Times: Don't get cocky. Your time is coming. Digital will overcome all of the old-line media over time. Only those that rapidly embrace it have even a chance at surviving.

[Jim Johnson]

(Hit post by mistake)

... when they should be jumping in with both feet.

Long tails and wise crowds . . .

[Jim Johnson]

Eric,

It sounds like the changes are speeding up...

I feel bad for those losing their jobs, and for the companies who still aren't willing to take the rather large leap to change their business model.

Although there are some experiments here and there... Tampa Bay's 10's citizen journalist project (if that's going anywhere)... the Times inviting a few USF fans to blog...

Tepid, toe in the water, tests when