Tampa Bay Times

The Tampa Bay Times, called the St. Petersburg Times until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a nonprofit journalism school directly adjacent to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.

It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single year for the first time in its history, one of which was for its PolitiFact project.

History

The newspaper traces its origin to the West Hillsborough Times, a weekly newspaper established in Dunedin, Florida, on the Pinellas Peninsula in 1884. At the time, neither St. Petersburg nor Pinellas County existed; the peninsula was part of Hillsborough County. The paper was published weekly in the back of a pharmacy and had a circulation of 480. It subsequently changed ownership six times in seventeen years. In December 1884, it was bought by A. C. Turner, who moved it to Clear Water Harbor (modern Clearwater, Florida). In 1892, it moved to St. Petersburg, and by 1898 it was officially renamed the St. Petersburg Times.

The Times became bi-weekly in 1907, and began publication six days a week in 1912. Paul Poynter, a publisher originally from Indiana, bought the paper in September 1912 and converted to a seven-day paper, though it was rarely financially stable. Paul's son, Nelson Poynter, became editor in 1939 and took majority control of the paper in 1947, and set about improving the paper's finances and prestige. Nelson Poynter controlled the paper until his death in 1978, when he willed the majority of the stock to the non-profit Poynter Institute. In November 1986, the Evening Independent was merged into the Times. Poynter was succeeded as editor by Eugene Patterson (1978–1988), Andrew Barnes (1988–2004), Paul Tash (2004–2010; chair of the Times Publishing Company since 2004 and the Poynter Institute since 2007) Neil Brown (2010–2017),http://www.tampabay.com/company/about-us/times-executives/bios/nbrown and Mark Katches (2018–present).http://company.tampabay.com:2052/company/about-us/times-executives/bios/mkatches

On January 1, 2012, the St. Petersburg Times was renamed the Tampa Bay Times; this stemmed from a 2006 decision of a lawsuit with Media General, at the time the publishers of the Times competing newspaper, The Tampa Tribune, which allowed that paper to keep its exclusive right to use the name of its defunct sister paper, The Tampa Times, for five years after the decision.

As the newly rechristened Tampa Bay Times, the paper's weekday tabloid tbt*, a free daily publication and which used "(* Tampa Bay Times)" as its subtitle, became just tbt when the name change took place. The St. Pete Times name lives on as the name for the Times neighborhood news sections in southern Pinellas County (formerly Neighborhood Times), serving communities from Largo southward.

The Times has also done significant investigative reporting on the Church of Scientology, since the church's acquisition of the Fort Harrison Hotel in 1975 and other holdings in Clearwater. The Times has published special reports and series critical of the church and its current leader, David Miscavige.

In 2010, the Times published an investigative report questioning the validity of the United States Navy Veterans Association, leading to significant reaction and official investigations into the group nationwide.

On May 3, 2016, the Times acquired its longtime competitor The Tampa Tribune, with the latter publication immediately ceasing publishing and Tribune features and some writers expected to be merged into the Times. As reported by other local media outlets in the Tampa Bay area at the time of this acquisition, for many years the Tampa Tribune was considered to be the more conservative newspaper in the region, while the Tampa Bay Times was thought of as more liberal.

The Times purchase of the Tribune also allowed its circulation area to be expanded into Polk County, placing it in competition with other newspapers such as The Lakeland Ledger and The Polk County Democrat, as well as into the south central region of the state known as the Florida Heartland. In the case of the latter, the Times published Highlands Today, which was a daily news supplement of The Tribune for readers in Highlands County. The Times sold the paper in 2016 to Sun Coast Media Group.

In October 2019, the paper laid off seven newsroom employees.

The Times received $8.5 million in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program by July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. By this point, they had reduced delivery to two days per week. They had also cut 11 journalists' jobs through layoffs expected before the pandemic.

In August 2024, the paper announced it will eliminate 60 jobs, amounting to 20% of total staff.

On October 9–10, 2024, the Tampa Bay Times building was severely damaged during Hurricane Milton by a nearby construction crane that collapsed onto the building.

PolitiFact.com

The newspaper created PolitiFact.com, a project in which its reporters and editors "fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups…" They publish original statements and their evaluations on the PolitiFact.com website and assign each a "Truth-O-Meter" rating, with ratings ranging from "True" for completely true statements to "Pants on Fire" (from the taunt "Liar, liar, pants on fire") for false and ridiculous statements. The site also includes an "Obameter", tracking U.S. President Barack Obama's performance with regard to his campaign promises. PolitiFact.com was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2009 for "its fact-checking initiative during the 2008 presidential campaign that used probing reporters and the power of the World Wide Web to examine more than 750 political claims, separating rhetoric from truth to enlighten voters." The Times sold PolitiFact.com to its parent company, the Poynter Institute, in 2018.

Awards and nominations Year Award Work Recipients Category Result2022Pulitzer PrizeFor a compelling exposé of highly toxic hazards inside Florida’s only battery recycling plant that forced the implementation of safety measures to adequately protect workers and nearby residents.Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington and Eli MurrayInvestigative ReportingWon2021Pulitzer PrizeFor resourceful, creative reporting that exposed how a powerful and politically connected sheriff built a secretive intelligence operation that harassed residents and used grades and child welfare records to profile schoolchildren.Kathleen McGrory and Neil BediLocal ReportingWon2019Pulitzer PrizeFor impactful reporting, based on sophisticated data analysis, that revealed an alarming rate of patient fatalities following Johns Hopkins' takeover of a pediatric heart treatment facility.Kathleen McGrory and Neil BediInvestigative ReportingFinalist2016Pulitzer Prize"For exposing a local school board's culpability in turning some county schools into failure factories, with tragic consequences for the community. (Moved by the Board from the Public Service category, where it was also entered.)"Michael LaForgia, Cara Fitzpatrick and Lisa GartnerLocal ReportingWon"For a stellar example of collaborative reporting by two news organizations that revealed escalating violence and neglect in Florida mental hospitals and laid the blame at the door of state officials."Leonora LaPeter Anton and Anthony Cormier of the Tampa Bay Times and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-TribuneInvestigative ReportingWon2014Pulitzer Prize"For relentlessly investigating the squalid conditions that marked housing for Hillsborough County's substantial homeless population, leading to swift reforms."Will Hobson and Michael LaForgiaLocal ReportingWon2013Pulitzer Prize"For helping reverse the decision to end fluoridation of water in Pinellas County."Tim Nickens and Daniel RuthEditorial WritingWon2012Pulitzer PrizeTim Nickens, Joni James, John Hill and Robyn BlumnerEditorial WritingFinalist2010National Headliner Awards"Inside Scientology"Thomas C. Tobin and Joe ChildsInvestigative reportingFinalistFlorida Society of News EditorsGold Medal for Public ServiceWonPulitzer Prize"For Their Own Good"Ben Montgomery, Waveney Ann Moore, and photographer Edmund D. FountainLocal ReportingFinalist2009Pulitzer PrizePolitiFact.comTimes staff, represented by Bill Adair, Washington bureau chiefNational ReportingWonPublic Service Finalist"The Girl in the Window"Lane DeGregoryFeature WritingWon"Winter's Tale"John BarryFeature Writing Finalist2007Scripps Howard FoundationHuman Interest WritingLane DeGregoryErnie Pyle AwardWon"A Republican vs. Republican Cellular Division"Wes AllisonRaymond Clapper AwardWonPulitzer Prize"In His Own Defense"Christopher GoffardFeature Writing Finalist2003Scripps Howard FoundationHuman Interest WritingKelley BenhamErnie Pyle AwardWon2002Scripps Howard Foundation"The Poison in Your Back Yard"Julie HausermanEdward J. Meeman AwardWon2000Pulitzer Prize"Una Vida Mejor"Anne HullFeature Writing FinalistNational Reporting Finalist1999Sigma Delta Chi"Deadly Rampage"Times staffExcellence in deadline reportingWonInvestigative report of U.S. Rep. Corrine BrownBill Adair and David Dahl Washington correspondenceWon1998Pulitzer Prize"Angels & Demons"Thomas FrenchFeature WritingWonInvestigative report of The Rev. Henry LyonsTimes staffInvestigative Reporting FinalistThe "Tobacco" seriesDavid BarstowExplanatory Reporting Finalist1997Pulitzer PrizeCoverage of the 1996 St. Petersburg riotTimes staffSpot News Reporting Finalist1995Pulitzer Prize"Final Indignities"Jeffrey GoodEditorial WritingWon"A Secret Life"Anne HullFeature Writing Finalist1992Pulitzer Prize"Life From Death"Sheryl JamesFeature Writing Finalist1991Pulitzer Prize"A Gift Abandoned"Sheryl JamesFeature WritingWon1985Pulitzer PrizeCorruption in Pasco County Sheriff's OfficeLucy Morgan and Jack ReedInvestigative ReportingWon1982Pulitzer PrizeCoverage of drug smuggling in Dixie County, FloridaLucy MorganLocal General or Spot News Reporting Finalist1980Pulitzer PrizeInvestigation of Church of Scientology operations in FloridaBette Swenson Orsini and Charles StaffordNational ReportingWonTimes staffPublic Service Finalist1969Penney-Missouri AwardWomen's sectionMarjorie PaxsonGeneral ExcellenceWon1964Pulitzer PrizeInvestigation of Florida Turnpike AuthorityMartin Waldron and Times staffStaff (May 28, 1981). "Martin O. Waldron Is Dead at 56; Reporting Led to a Pulitzer Prize". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2010.Meritorious Public ServiceWon

Tampa Bay Times

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