''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily
newspaper published in
Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''
Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major
newspapers published in the
Tampa Bay area.
The newspaper also published a ''St. Petersburg Tribune'' edition, sold and distributed in
Pinellas County. It published a
Sunday magazine, ''Florida Accent'', during the 1960s and 1970s. ''The Tampa Tribune'' also operated ''
Highlands Today
''Highlands Today'' was a newspaper published in Sebring, Florida. It was associated with the ''Tampa Bay Times''; Copies of the Times distributed in Highlands County, Florida included the supplement, which focuses on issues relevant to Sebring, A ...
'', a daily newspaper in
Sebring. The ''Tribune'' stopped publishing the ''
Hernando Today'', which was located in
Brooksville, on December 1, 2014, citing "a tough newspaper advertising climate."
On May 3, 2016, the ''Tampa Bay Times'' announced that it had acquired the ''Tribune'', and was combining the ''Times'' and ''Tribune''s operations, ending publication of the ''Tribune''.
History
Daily publication of the ''Tribune'' started in 1895 when
Wallace Stovall upgraded printing from once a week.
In 1927, newspaper mogul
John Stewart Bryan, of
Virginia, and his business partner Samuel Emory Thomason, previously a vice-president with the ''
Chicago Tribune'', purchased ''The Tampa Tribune'' for $900,000.
The Tampa Tribune Publishing company grew to include the ''Tampa Tribune'', the ''Tampa Times'', ''TBO.com'', ''TampaBayOnline.com'',
WFLA radio, and
WFLA-TV.
In 1966, the ''Tampa Tribune'', along with sister properties
WFLA-AM
WFLA (970 AM) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay media market. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy ...
-
FM-
TV, was purchased by
Richmond Newspapers, becoming
Media General in 1969. Since 2000, the ''Tribune'' partnered with
WFLA-TV and TBO.com in a
converged arrangement, all connected with one another under owner Media General. The large media complex is located on Parker Street in
Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area.
It is second only to Westshore regarding employment in the area. Companies with a major presence downtown i ...
. The ''Tribune'' was a flagship newspaper under the Media General banner until it was sold in 2012.
Executive editor
Janet Coats Janet Coats (born May 6, 1963, in Cleveland, Tennessee) is new media journalism director for the Patterson Foundation in Sarasota, Fla. Patterson Foundation New Media Journalism Facebook page Formerly she was executive editor of The Tampa Tribune.>
...
left the paper in December 2009 and was not replaced until May 17, 2012, when managing editor Richard "Duke" Maas was promoted to executive editor.
On May 17, 2012, it was announced that investment company
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiums ...
would be acquiring Media General's newspaper division; the purchase did not include the ''Tribune'' or its associated regional papers, which were being retained by Media General. No reason was given as to why Media General was retaining the ''Tribune'', but there was speculation that the paper would be sold to another party, such as
Halifax Media Group (which owns several papers in Florida) or a completely different owner, or that the paper would merge with the ''Tampa Bay Times''. In October 2012, ''The Tampa Tribune'' and its associated print and digital products were acquired by Tampa Media Group, Inc., a new company formed by Revolution Capital Group.
On May 3, 2016, the ''Tampa Bay Times'' announced that it had acquired the ''Tribune'', and was combining the ''Times'' and ''Tribune''s operations, ending publication of the ''Tribune''.
The acquisition also includes ''Highlands Today'', weekly newspaper ''The Suncoast News'', and weekly Spanish-language newspaper ''Centro''; all of these will continue publishing under Times' ownership. The ''Tampa Tribune'' name will be repurposed as a neighborhood news section of the Times.
''Tampa Daily Times'' trademark
In 1958, the ''Tribune'' acquired Tampa's struggling evening newspaper, the ''Tampa Daily Times.'' The ''Tribune'' published the paper as ''The Tampa Times'' until 1982. From then until the ''Tribune'' closed down, the ''Tribune'' displayed the logo for ''The Tampa Times'' in the masthead on the front section. This was part of an effort by the ''Tribune'' to keep its trademark on the ''Tampa Times'' name, and to avoid confusion with the then-''St. Petersburg Times,'' which long published a Tampa edition. In 2006, it was decided in a lawsuit that the ''Tribune'' could keep its exclusive use of the ''Tampa Times'' name, but only for five years. This exclusivity ended at the end of 2011, allowing the ''St. Petersburg Times'' to rename itself the ''Tampa Bay Times'', effective January 1, 2012. The decision did not restrict the use of ''The Tampa Times'' name by the ''Tribune'' after the expiration of exclusivity.
Awards
The ''Tampa Tribune'' won a
Pulitzer Prize in 1966 for local investigative specialized reporting. The award went to John Anthony Frasca for his "investigation and reporting of two robberies that resulted in the freeing of an innocent man."
See also
*
List of newspapers in Florida
References
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tampa Tribune, The
1895 establishments in Florida
2016 disestablishments in Florida
Mass media in the Tampa Bay area
Defunct newspapers published in Florida
Publications established in 1895
Publications disestablished in 2016