Pay cuts at St. Pete Times hit employees hard

Needless to say, morale is suffering.

One staffer told CL, "To work as hard as we do, and to seemingly get penalized for it, it's testing our resolve."

Another Times reporter tells CL that the news came as a surprise, with not even managers being aware of what was happening before Thursday.

Another editor reportedly complained upon receiving the Tash letter that money has been spent improperly by the paper in recent years.

One possible example: A merger in 2008 of the Times and Miami Herald Tallahassee bureaus seemed like a cost saver, making the enlarged bureau the strongest single media outlet in the capital, with the most resources. But in some cases, you could argue that the bureau is a bit bloated. During the recent Legislative session, at times it appeared there were more reporters than stories to cover when we visited and reported from the press gallery. And it costs to pay for accommodations for some of those reporters.

And then there are the bureaus in Pasco, Hernando and Brandon. How long can they be maintained?

Although the quality of the Times remains consistently good, the fact is that the Metro section of at least the Tampa edition of the paper has thinned in recent years.

The Times problems are modest, however compared with the situation at the Tampa Tribune, where rumors run rampant that the paper may not survive past 2013. Of course, similar rumors spread in 2008 about the paper's demise, which was greatly exaggerated.

Earlier this summer the owner of the Trib, WFLA-News Channel 8 and TBO.com, Media General, imposed 15 unpaid furlough days that had to be taken by December 31, as well as laying off 29 employees. (Curiously, Times staffers will be given five days off with pay over the next five months to go with their cut in salary).

Creative Loafing's financial woes made news two years ago, when the paper went into bankruptcy before ultimately being purchased by New York-based hedge fund Atalaya Capital Management.