Tampa Bay Times to launch St. Pete-centric publication

The Tampa Bay Times is bringing back the St. Petersburg Times (IYKYK).

Not really, but sort of.

The Times Publishing Company, which is the publisher of the Tampa Bay Times, plans to launch the St. Petersburg Beacon in early 2025.

The new community edition of the paper will focus on local reporting specific to St. Pete. It will be delivered to subscribers as an insert in the Wednesday edition of the Times’ printed paper. It will also be delivered for free to nonsubscribers in select St. Pete ZIP codes. The publication will also be available online.

Reporting in the St. Petersburg Beacon will include reporting from new partners, including the Catalyst Media Group, the parent company of the St. Pete Catalyst, and Cityverse, a sister organization of the Catalyst.

“We’re dedicated to providing trustworthy local reporting to Tampa Bay, as is the Catalyst,” the Times’ Chair and CEO Conan Gallaty said. “This collaboration helps us deliver more coverage our region needs.”

Gallaty previously joined the Cityverse Board of Advisors.

The partnership is meant to expand coverage of local news.

“As the local news environment continues to be challenging, it is more important than ever that organizations dedicated to responsible, high-quality journalism work together to tell the stories that matter in our day-to-day lives,” Catalyst publisher Joe Hamilton said. “By partnering, our organizations can serve the community more efficiently and effectively.”

The partnership also comes after the Times earlier this month announced plans to cut a fifth of its workforce, citing less-than-expected print advertising revenue. The Times was offering buyouts before implementing layoffs, but ultimately planned to eliminate 60 jobs.

As part of the early August announcement, the Times said there would be “product changes … because we cannot produce the same volume of work with fewer people.” The Times has yet to elaborate on what those changes might be, if they are different from the new St. Petersburg Beacon.

The Times changed its name in 2012 from the St. Petersburg Times to the Tampa Bay Times, a move many in St. Pete felt slighted by because it put emphasis on neighboring Tampa.