Tim Nickens to retire this spring after 30-year career with the Tampa Bay Times

Tampa Bay Times Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens is retiring this spring.

Times CEO Paul Tash announced the retirement to staff in a memo Monday morning.

“Of course, Tim’s singular contribution to the public good is the work that won him (and colleague Daniel Ruth) a Pulitzer Prize — the campaign that put fluoride back in Pinellas County’s drinking water. But his painstaking labors in the vineyards of local governance — all those editorial interviews and recommendations for judges, school board members, local officials and state legislators — leave a broad influence on our region and state,” Tash wrote, according to the Times.

Nickens has worked for the Times for three decades, leading the editorial board for the last 12 years.

He began as a Clearwater reporter before shifting focus to St. Petersburg and then later, as a Tallahassee reporter.

He also served in other leadership positions including as a political editor and metro editor.

Nickens became the deputy editor of editorials in 2004 and then promoted to his final position at the top of the editorial team in 2008.

Nickens told the Times he was fortunate to work at one of the best newspapers in the nation.

“It’s been rewarding work, and it’s been wonderful to see the entire Tampa Bay region blossom since we first arrived. I believe the Times’ editorial voice has contributed to that success, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to take a step back, spend less time thinking about politics and public policy — and more time watching baseball games,” he said.

Nickens departure comes shortly after another Times veteran left the Tampa Bay area’s newspaper of reference. Susan Taylor Martin, who most recently served as the paper’s real estate reporter, retired at the end of 2019 after a 37 year career with the Times.

Through her nearly four decade tenure with the Times, Martin covered business and real estate and served as a national reporter and foreign correspondent.

The Times did not say exactly when Nickens was leaving or who might replace him.