Another 17 Newsroom Positions Axed at 'Tampa Tribune'

By: E&P Staff Some 17 full-time journalist positions at The Tampa Tribune were eliminated as part of another round of layoffs at the combined newsroom of the newspaper, WFLA-TV and the local Web site, TBO.com.

All told, 25 newsroom positions were eliminated. Florida Communications Group (FCG), the Tampa Bay unit of Media General Inc., also laid off another 60 non-newsroom people.

"This is unfortunately the same song in the sixth verse," Janet Coats, executive editor and vice president who heads the combined newsroom. The cuts were reported on the FCG Website by Tampa Tribune reporter Richard Mullins.

With the staff reductions, the combined newsroom employs about 260 full-timers, and total employment is about 950.