St. Petersburg Times Will Become Tampa Bay Times

By: Press Release | Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA BAY, Fla. – In a move to better describe the newspaper it has already become, the St. Petersburg Times is changing its name to Tampa Bay Times on Jan. 1, 2012.

The Times is the largest newspaper in Florida because it has found a large audience throughout the TampaBay region. Three-fourths of Times readers live outside St. Petersburg.

Times chairman and CEO Paul Tash predicted the change also would reinforce the area’s identity, both locally and across the nation. “We are putting our own greatest asset – our good name – toward the future of the Tampa Bay region,” Tash said.

The Tampa Bay Times will remain independent and locally owned, by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, based in St. Petersburg.

The St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa will be renamed the Tampa Bay Times Forum. It is home to the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, and it will be the site for the 2012 Republican National Convention.

The newspaper’s philanthropic fund, which awards grants and college scholarships, will become the Tampa Bay Times Fund, Inc.

Times Publishing first used the new name in 2004, when it launched tbt* Tampa Bay Times, a free tabloid for young adults. tbt* will remain free and published as an edition of the Tampa Bay Times.

For more information, go to www.tampabay.com/newname.