Media General Lays Off 165 In Tampa Area

Media General has laid off 165 people at the Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and associated properties, reports the St. Petersburg Times.

“The company regrets having to make any staff reductions, and appreciates the contributions of the valued employees who will be leaving. Affected employees will receive severance and outplacement support,” read a statement from Media General, obtained by the Times.

“The reductions were made as a result of combining or eliminating manager and support positions across all affected platforms, and by capturing new synergies across the many newsrooms and bureaus that produce the various print publications and TBO.com content.”

Among those laid off are TV critic Walt Belcher, who was coming up on 35 years with the paper, and Loren Omoto, managing editor of TBO.com.

After the layoffs, the company’s Tampa operations will include 675 employees, including approximately 300 on the content side, the statement said.

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