On Wednesday afternoon, in the wake of the fallout related to the global coronavirus pandemic, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s parent company, Euclid Media Group (EMG), announced layoffs at each of its seven newspapers.
In Tampa, seven staffers across editorial, production, events and sales were let go along with a part-timer in editorial. Remaining employees—including Editor-In-Chief Ray Roa and Digital Editor Colin Wolf—are taking 10% paycuts and taking on additional roles effective immediately.
An official at EMG told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that editorial staff at six other EMG papers —Orlando Weekly, San Antonio Current, Detroit Metro Times, Cincinnati City Beat, The Riverfront Times in St. Louis and Cleveland Scene—was also dramatically reduced.
In a statement, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay said it was “heartbroken" and explained that its revenue comes from the “community being able to gather in public—in restaurants, bars, theatres, museums, parks and at our own events and festivals.” Since a majority of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s advertisers are ceasing operation as the coronavirus quarantine measures go into effect, the paper wrote that it simply doesn’t “have a path forward with our full staff.”
EMG offered no severance to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay employees laid off on Wednesday.
“It’s our sincere hope that, after weathering this storm, we’ll be able to bring back this incredibly valued staff, but at the moment, we can’t offer a timeline,” the statement said.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Publisher James Howard added that, “My hope is that in the very near future, we can go back to business as usual. We are heartbroken to have to let go our staff of hardworking, talented people. Until then, our very small, but scrappy staff remains committed to the Tampa Bay area, our advertisers and delivering journalism to the city we love.”
The remaining editorial staff at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay has since started a GoFundMe to help our friends stay on their feet as they navigate the coming weeks.
In April 2018, Euclid Media Group, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio, acquired Creative Loafing Tampa from Tennessee-based company Southcomm. The transaction entailed layoffs of several SouthComm employees, including long-time Editor-in-Chief David Warner.
—Ray Roa and Colin Wolf
Read the full statement below.
Creative Loafing Tampa statement on layoffs amid coronavirus fallout
In light of the unprecedented economic catastrophe brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Creative Loafing Tampa is heartbroken to tell you we temporarily laid off 7 employees today. The cuts came from virtually every department, including sales, production, editorial and events. It’s our sincere hope that, after weathering this storm, we’ll be able to bring back this incredibly valued staff, but at the moment, we can’t offer a timeline.
In the spirit of transparency, since we are a free publication and website, 100% of Creative Loafing Tampa’s revenue comes from our community being able to gather in public—in restaurants, bars, theatres, museums, parks and at our own events and festivals. Since a majority of our advertisers are ceasing operation as quarantine measures go into effect, we simply don’t have a path forward with our full staff. Remaining employees across the company are taking a pay cut and covering multiple roles for the time being.
“My hope is that in the very near future, we can go back to business as usual. We are heartbroken to have to let go our staff of hardworking, talented people,” CL Publisher James Howard said. “Until then, our very small, but scrappy staff remains committed to the Tampa Bay area, our advertisers and delivering journalism to the city we love.”
We don’t know what the future holds, but because Tampa Bay needs as much information as possible during these trying times, we’ll be working our asses off to bring you stories you need — and some you don’t. To continue serving you, we ask that if you can support us through donation, please do. Every single contribution will go toward keeping your free, independent news source in operation another day.
It’s a hell of a time for everyone, but we’re up for the challenge and are grateful, dear reader, for your loyalty and support.
With love,
The Creative Loafing Team
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This article appears in Mar 12-19, 2020.
