A lot can be said about how we got here, the state of journalism in the age of social media, the fact that the phrase “newspaper sales” seems an oxymoron at a time when most media outlets provide their content for free online. But up until the last minute of the Trib’s existence, none of that mattered to the staffers who worked tirelessly to break stories and put out a paper every day. Even as the ground was pulled from under them — layoffs every few months, the sale of the building that housed the paper — staffers carried themselves with professionalism, and the newsroom maintained an air of camaraderie and humor. The Tampa Bay Times bought the paper, immediately shuttering it in early May, and to this day there are some talented former Trib staffers still looking for the permanent work they deserve. —KB
This article appears in Best of The Bay 2016.
