Before we get into the new circulation numbers released on Tuesday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, we'd like to take a moment to give praise to the Tampa Tribune.
After the paper's severe restructuring last December, the management down at Parker Street decided to devote their diminishing resources to covering Tampa more thoroughly than before. Part of that restructuring included putting reporter Josh Poltilove exclusively on the South Tampa news beat.
In some ways, the paper is better than it has been in a long time. Joe Henderson has been a welcome addition, writing columns in the metro section, and the paper has definitely scored some scoops over the Tampa Bay Times on Tampa stories, such as the tax refund fraud outbreak in the city and region.
Of course, we're not in favor of everything the new team at the Trib has been up to, such as exiling former City Hall reporter Christian Wade to Carrollwood. Wade was already disaffected, and that move prompted him to leave the paper. (He has landed nicely on his feet, now reporting for Newsday in New York City.)
Now let's talk about how many readers the Trib (and the Tampa Bay Times) are retaining, according to the new stats.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.