Tampa Bay Times cuts workforce, signs St. Pete content partnership

The Times Publishing Co., parent entity of the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Bay Newspapers, has announced a content sharing partnership with Catalyst Media Group, parent of daily digital publication St. Pete Catalyst and Cityverse. 

The partnership comes as the newspaper, part of one of the largest media organizations in Florida, grapples with job buyouts and a leadership change. 

Through the partnership, the Tampa Bay Times will publish content created by the St. Pete Catalyst, which aims to expand coverage of local news, according to a statement. The two groups also intend to launch the St. Pete Beacon, a free weekly print publication produced by Tampa Bay Newspapers for residents of the Sunshine City, in 2025. 

“As the local news environment continues to be challenging, it is more important than ever that organizations dedicated to responsible, high quality journalism work together to tell the stories that matter in our day-to-day lives,” Catalyst publisher Joe Hamilton says in the statement. “By partnering, our organizations can serve the community more efficiently and effectively.”

“We’re dedicated to providing trustworthy local reporting to Tampa Bay, as is the Catalyst,” Times Publishing Company chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty adds in the statement. “This collaboration helps us deliver more coverage that our region needs.” (Gallaty joined the Cityverse Board of Advisors last month.)

The move, announced in a Tuesday afternoon statement, comes during a tumultuous period for Times Publishing — which is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Pete. Earlier this month the newspaper said it needs to eliminate 60 jobs, or 20% of its workforce. In a Aug. 6 blog post on Poynter.org, CEO and president Conan Gallaty cited "less-than-expected print advertising revenue," as reason for the job cuts. Another Poynter report posted today states Gallaty sent a note to staff saying that enough staffers took the buyouts for the Times to avoid layoffs.

Additionally, TPC president Joe DeLuca announced his retirement today. After serving the company since 2001, DeLuca will be succeeded by Bala Sundaramoorthy, who most recently served as general manager of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newspaper says. DeLuca joined the Times in 2001. He was pivotal in the acquisition of the Tampa Tribune, the newspaper says, and was publisher of tbt* He was recently inducted into the Florida Press Association’ Hall of Fame.