WFLA-Ch. 8 sportscaster Dave Reynolds among 53 people laid off by Media General in Florida Monday

Dave Reynolds had just returned to the newsroom at Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA-Ch. 8, fresh from covering a press conference Monday afternoon, when the dreaded message came: you're wanted for a meeting in the human resources office.

Before long, Reynolds had learned he was among 53 people laid off by the Florida division of WFLA's parent company Media General Monday, released just shy of his sixth anniversary at the station.

Overall, Florida Communications Group eliminated 65 positions Monday -- including 12 open jobs -- citing continuing problems with advertising in a tight economy. 

Among those who remain at Media General's Florida outlets -- which include WFLA, the Tampa Tribune newspaper, Hernando Today, TBO.com, Spanish-language CENTRO and a host of smaller publications -- staffers must take an additional unpaid day of leave in April, May and June. They each already have taken 10 unpaid days.

"Tampa Bay’s economy is not recovering . . .  (and) advertisers continue to aggressively cut their spending," said FCG president John Schueler, in a memo circulated to employees Monday. Schueler said he plans to meet with every department in the company to discuss the reductions and detail further efforts to cut operating costs. A report on TBO.com said the company has stopped publishing two lifestyle publications and is reviewing others, while considering closing some news bureaus.

Reynolds, 45, had been covering sports with one other anchor, Dan Lucas; he said WFLA never really named another lead sports anchor after former top dog J.P. Peterson left more than a year ago. The change also means WFLA has just four people of color among an on-air staff of 26 reporters and anchors.

Now, Reynolds says WFLA plans to use more staffers from the Tampa Tribune to help report sports stories on air. The station also has cut back the Sunday Sports Extra show, he says.

"It's obviously tremendously disappointing," Reynolds adds, who has a wife and 4-year-old son. "After a certain while, you think you might be safe...This year was arguably the biggest year ever for sports in the Tampa Bay area, with the World Series and Super Bowl and so many other stories. For us to do what we did with two people . . . we worked very hard."

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Click below to read Schueler's memo:

Dear Colleagues:

Thus far in 2009, Tampa Bay’s economy is not recovering.  Advertisers continue to aggressively cut their spending.  Therefore we will need to further reduce our operating costs. 

Effective today, through open positions and reductions in force, 65 positions have been eliminated.  In addition, we will add one more furlough day per month to April, May and June for all FCG employees.  Operating expense saving initiatives will also be rolled out over the next few weeks. Your department manager will explain these changes.  I will also be meeting with each and every FCG department, starting tomorrow, to provide additional detail, clarify our short and long term plans for success and answer any questions you may have.  It’s also a chance to get your input on how to grow audience, revenue and position ourselves for the future.

It seems that over the last few months we’ve been spending a lot of time deciding on expense cuts and furlough schedules, but it’s also been a time of accomplishment.  At our upcoming meetings we will review these successes as well as our future plans.  I look forward to talking with you. 

John R. Schueler

President
Florida Communications Group

Comments

[Eric Deggans]

Since the maturation of the Internet, TV newscasts have never been for peopel who cared enough to search out answers to specific questions.

The regular-edition sportscast is for the 60 percent of viewers who are not interested enough in sports to find out what happened online.

Also, why should a daily TV sportscast be confined to reporting game results? That narrow vision may be what's edging them off the airwaves more than anything...

[joe hillman]

>>> It's one of many unfortunate ramifications from his layoff, including the possibility of reduced sports coverage at WFLA <<<

to be honest -- and this is not a knock on wfla or any local tv newscast or sportscast (it's more of a knock on espn) -- our rapidly changing society in the information age is pinching both sportscasts and newspapers.

let's take the rays for example: most games are finished at roughly 10:30 p.m. (30 minutes before the 11 p.m. newscast starts). by that time, mlb.com will have more video highlights of the game than the entire alloted slot of time on the local sportscast allows, the entire sportscast.

so if i am so inclined, i can go to bed before the 11:24 p.m. sportscast, watched all the highlights, read the box scores and maybe lucky enough to read an account of the game from the rays' website or an AP writethru.

the local sportscast (any market with a team) is already behind the eight-ball much less the paper which comes out with, by the time i pick it up, has 8-10-hour old news.

the local sportscast (and in particular the paper) needs to give the fan something they won't get before they go to bed.

in short, rather than regurtitaging or rehashing the previous game, look forward: how will tonight's outcome affect tomorrow's game?

it's a drastic, yet simple, change in philosophy: don't look back; look forward. no need to tell me what happened; i already know what happened.

[joe hillman]

for an ink-stained scribe, marc lancaster seems pretty polished in front of the camera as well.

[Carl Cronan]

So much for "Fanatical Bucs Coverage," right? With the proper in-house training, Trib sports writers could easily double as TV reporters. Roy Cummings seems to do pretty well on camera, but the other folks could use some work. (I'm just saying is all! I've been on TV before and it's nerve-wracking.) Too bad for Dave Reynolds, hopefully he gets picked up soon by another TV outlet that isn't being shredded.

[JOHN DROZINSKI]

AND AGAIN ERIC I SAY AGAIN MY COMMENT WAS NOT ON YOUR STORY BUT THOSE COMMENTS ON HERE

[Eric Deggans]

I think it is unfortunate that any comment about race become amplified and exaggerated.

If I had thought that the biggest impact from Reynolds' departure from WFLA involved race, I certainly would have said so.

But I mentioned it in one sentence in a decent-sized story because that was what the subject deserved.

It's one of many unfortunate ramifications from his layoff, including the possibility of reduced sports coverage at WFLA...

[beltwaybandit]

I did not read the original blog by Eric as implying that "this is all about race". I simply asked questions because Eric made a point that 8 only had 10% of their on air team as "people of color" but did not note what he thought the right number should be. It IS an interesting issue.

On the other hand, Eric comes back and minimizes his line about race as being inconsequential. If the line was not meant to trigger discussion about race, then why bother including it at all?

And let's be clear...Eric has never been anything but concerned about race in the media. So that's why I am surprised to read Eric attempt to minimize the import of his "one line".

[JOHN DROZINSKI]

LOL ERIC MAYBE YOU SHOULD READ YOUR ON POST NOT ONE LINE AND THEN READ MINE I GAVE MY VIEW ON A # OF COMMENTS, OR IS IT THE ONE ABOUT BLOGGERS THAT TOUCHED A NERVE

[Eric Deggans]

I find it interesting that a one-line reference in a story is seen as breaking everything down to race...

[JOHN DROZINSKI]

DAVE REYNOLDS< I LIKE OTHERS AM SORRY TO HEAR THAT WE ARE LOOSING DAVE. BUT READING THE COMMENTS IT'S A SHAME TO SEE ALL THESE FINE PEOPLE'S JOB LOSS BREAK DOWN TO RACE ISSUES! WE TALK ABOUT AD COST IN PRINT AND T.V.LOSSES AND PHOTOGS NOT WANTING TO DO VIDEO, BUT ITS SIMPLER THEN ALL THAT, T.V. AND PRINT HAS GONE TO THE BLOGS ( PUN INTENDED HERE )THE INTERNET HAS ALREADY SENT THE POST OFFICE TO AN EARILY GRAVE AND NOW IT IS GRINDING AWAY AT MEDIA. I READ THE PAPER AND WATCH THE NEW'S THERE SOME GREAT PEOPLE IN YOUR INDUSTRY AND SOME NOT SO GREAT SO PLEASE LET'S NOT DRAG THIS INTO RACE AND QUOTA'S

[Eric Deggans]

Been out of the office on assignment so I'm coming to these discussions late.

Beltway, before the economy ravaged news organizations, outlets strived to have a diversity level which matched the community they were trying to cover. The idea was, if your newsroom was as ethnically and culturally diverse as your coverage area, there was less chance stories might fall through the cracks or get short shrift.

The last time I looked at the figures a couple of years ago, the percentage of people in the five counties which form the St. Petersburg Times' core coverage area among the top four ethnic/cultural minorities -- black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American -- was about 22 percent.

So WFLA's on air staff, which is at 11 percent, is about half what some experts say it should be.

My memory is even more hazy on these figures, but a long whileago i wrote about diversity in local television and found Hillsborough County's black and Hispanic population was at about 30 percent and Tampa's black and Hispanic population was close to 50 percent.

You can use whatever figure for comparison you would like; seems to me, three people out of 26 is a pretty low proportion...

[jose]

re: "As for TV people "taking credit " for newspaper research, that is ridiculous in this instance."

I didn't say that.

I said that TV and radio people, IN MANY INSTANCES over the last 25 years, have simply relied on the news already gathered to do their reports.

Or, if they do original newsgathering, it amounts to a)reading the morning paper's story, which, if done by a good reporter, entailed a good amount of research and interviews with several people, b)swooping down after the fact for a five-minute interview with the most high-profile person in the story, and c}turning that into a 60-second story.

Anyone who has watched media coverage and competition over a long period has also witnessed the other thing that I mentioned - TV news readers and radio announcers lifting in whole, or almost in whole, stories from the daily newspaper.

I didn't say these broadcast outlets were "taking credit" for news gathering that they didn't do. They usually didn't go that far. I just said that they often lifted those reports without giving credit to the original sources, which, in many respects, is tantamount to taking credit for them.

With "convergence," some of this has changed, because, for instance, Channel 8 can't very well NOT mention the Tampa Trib's original reporting when that Trib reporter is nearby. In the "old days" there was very little contact between the two organizations.

I guess my point is that, regardless of your recollection about photogs and videographers, even if what you said is true, TV and radio stations have a long and ignoble history of "borrowing" from newspaper reporters, and few of the guilty parties have apologized for that or even admitted that they did it.

[bulletinizer]

Poor Dave Reynolds, wife and kid. And they're ending the 11 a.m. newscast and *breaking news* renegotiating Bill Ratliff's contract, I heard through a well placed source.

[OneNewspaperTown]

When the local FCG president allegedly announced that print was not a viable medium several years ago, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Efforts were placed in areas that didn't warrant it. The Trib suffers because of the lead guys philosophy.

Start there first and the problem could resolve itself.

[Anonymous]

Jose,
You don't think it works the other way as well? Trust me, I have training in both mediums and the point I was raising simply is that channel 8 shooters would inconvenience themselves by picking up slack for photographers who say, didn't want to make the trek to Rays batting practice. And a week later, when a shooter would be busy, the photog wouldn't take a few minutes of video of Jeff Garcia warming up at Bucs practice. THAT is the double standard.

As for TV people "taking credit " for newspaper research, that is ridiculous in this instance. I worked closely with both WFLA and Trib folks and the research, interviews and story ideas would all be unique to the people conducting them.

Point is, a struggling Tampa Trib is causing good, important people like Dave to be let go.

[jose]

re: "From my experience, the veterans at WFLA were more likely to go above and beyond to help the Trib than the other way around."

I'm not sure what was up with the photo/videographers situation, but keep a couple of things in mind ...

1)Since forever, TV and radio news outlets have essentially been ripping off the work of newspapers. In other words, the newspaper reporters have done the original reporting, and TV and radio reporters have simply taken that info and ran with it. It's not uncommon for radio news readers, in particular, to simply take a newspaper piece, read it verbatim, and then NOT EVEN CREDIT the newspaper, much less the reporter.

The same thing has happened with TV news readers and "reporters." Most local broadcast outlets do very little original reporting.

2)Still photography and videography are separate arts. In the silly rush to "convergence" (led by the fantastically "brave" Tampa Tribune, LOL), still photography has been devalued. I totally understand why newspaper photogs wouldn't be all that excited to take on a job (videography) they weren't hired to do.

[beltwaybandit]

By the way...I noticed that Eric noted channel 8 now has 3 "people of color" out of 26 on air anchors and reporters.

What is the correct number they should have, Eric?

I believe in general, the term "people of color" is a primarily U.S. term meant to describe all people who are non-white. Not just blacks.

So if we look at the entire Bay Area served by Channel 8 and determine the total perentage of the population that are people of color, should channel 8's air staff be comprised of the same ratio? Or is there another accepted rule of thumb?

According to Claritas, in 2008 Tampa Bay's white population totaled around 80% of the total population in the area. However, it looks to me like they count Hispnacis within that 80% number. I have seen that before.

So, if you consider Hispanics to be "people of color", then you are looking atmore like 34% of the total Tampa Bay population as being non-white.

Based on those numbers, Channel 8 lags far behind the curve in terms of the composition of their on-air staff.

But we still don't know what the "rule" is supposed to be.

[Anonymous]

I worked at WFLA and know the culture there rather well.

A few parts of Dave's departure really bother me: first, the sports department there is one of the strongest at the network, while also be short in terms of man power. Even with Reynolds/Lucas tandem, the group was always busting their hump to get great work done, despite a lack of assistance.

From my experience, the veterans at WFLA were more likely to go above and beyond to help the Trib than the other way around. In other words, a Ch. 8 shooter would typically take still shots for the paper, but getting a Trib photog to go out and help the station was far more difficult. In an ever changing industry, that is a pretty raw deal for the station.

As for the race debate, I personally don't think that was of issue here. Ultimately, the person who served as Dave's immediate "boss" was a minority. Clearly, he is not making the big decisions from the top, but I just don't think race factored into this decision, regardless of what history might suggest. Dave made more money than some of his peers. It is a soft economy and these things are happening everywhere, regardless of race.

Still Dave was a great worker and it is sad that after all of his time with channel 8, they would dump him from a tight knit sports team already shorthanded.

[beltwaybandit]

It is always sad when people become displaced from their employment. It is especially sad when people who do good work, like Reyonlds has, get cut for no reason other than the business climate.

However, reality is what it is.

In truth, local TV is now falling faster than newspapers at stations all across the country. As I have stated before in postings here, I am unclear whether newspapers or local TV will reach the bottom faster in 2009.

It is all because of a failed business model, not because of the economy. Blaming all this on the economy implies that you expect things to rebound to where things once were at some point. Not going to happen. If the Florida Communications Group truly believes that, then no wonder they are rapidly declining.

The only impact the poor economy has had is to accelerate the decline of newspapers and local TV.

But let's keep it in perspective...on an operating basis, many newspapers are stll profitable. As are some radio stations. They just are not as profitable as they once were and due to debt placed on these properties by ownership, not as profitable as they need to be to pay back money owed.

There will be some newspaper survivors. Those who adopt digital strategies and come to grips with their place in the world (news gathering, not newspaper business) will emerge for the long term if they keep the best writers and editors and change their models quickly.

Local TV is far more vulnerable, because their reporters are not of the same caliber as the newspapers and are more focused on gloss and features instead of good journalism. In general.

Local TV has far less of a franchise to shift to the digital platform, and thus their future is cloudier than newspapers. I mean, is it really necessary to have four stations all doing local news in the same market? No.

Finally, not that this makes Dave Reynolds and the rest of his colleagues any more comfortable, but no less than NBC is said to be considering firing ALL of their local news anchors, reporters, producers, sportcasters, etc. and doing away with local news entirely on their locally owned stations (New York, LA, Chicago, etc.).

It could be worse in Tampa.

[OneNewspaperTown]

Look at the exec team at FCG. See any blacks or asian represented?

Also, I understand that Media General is overpopulated with men in top positions.

Bunch of good old boys trying to save their retirements.

[Manny]

What is it about canning Asians and blacks @ 8?
Can someone inside please anonymously comment?

[OneNewspaperTown]

Stick a fork in the Trib because its done. Wait until they shrink the paper to 44 inches this week.

Some "family." More like managers with their heads in the sand.

[lookoutworld]

It does seem like WFLA is being bled dry by the Tribune, and on top of that the cuts don't appear to be coming from the areas they should. As for Scripps and other companies that own newspapers, most of them look like they are cutting their losses ie. Scripps and the Rocky Mountain News. There are those that feel that MG would do well to follow suit.

[Eric Deggans]

Well, gal, I would point out that the item about Ch. 10 also notes they are on their second round of furloughs.

And every major TV station in town is owned by a company which also owns newspapers -- from News Corp and ch. 13 (New York Post, Wall Street Journal), to Scripps and ch. 28 (Naples Daily News, Ventura County Star).

[gal pal]

I think it is interesting that you just had a story about channel 10 hiring two new people yet Channel 8 is cutting people. Aren't they in the same market relying on the same money source?
I think the other posters are right about the Tribune, WFLA is being sucked dry.

[John M.]

There is an irony in using Tribune reporters to pick up the slack that Dave Reynolds' departure creates.

If not for the Tribune albatross around WFLA's neck, Reynolds would still work there.

Not that broadcasters are flush with cash but it's no coincidence that the stations in this market most affected by layoffs are the ones owned by companies most heavily invested in newspapers.

[tvwatcher]

WFLA is keeping the Trib afloat. I hope the effort is worth it. They should cut their losses now and stop printing the paper. They are on a road to ruin.