Times' Name Change: How Do You Feel?
On Sunday, Jan. 1 the St. Petersburg Times officially changed its name to the Tampa Bay Times.
A new chapter for the St. Petersburg Times began Sunday when the paper officially changed its name to the Tampa Bay Times.
The decision was announced on Nov. 1, 2011, that after more than a hundred years, the Times would be changing its name.
According to the paper, it says a majority if its audience is outside of St. Petersburg and the name change reflects that. It said the name change was inevitable and a sign of success
"For decades, the Times has been reaching north and east from St. Petersburg. Nearly 25 years ago, we launched our Tampa edition ... With that success, our name no longer fit the newspaper or the audience we serve. Three-fourths of Times readers live outside St. Petersburg."
Bill Mitchell, a faculty member of the nonprofit Poynter Institute, which owns the St. Petersburg Times, told Patch in November that he sees the decision as a smart move.
"Cities need to think regionally. News organizations need to move beyond old ways of framing their audiences," he said, describing the change as an "innovation worthy of the guy whose name remains attached the school he set up to own his paper."
In an editorial on Sunday, the Times said:
"While our name is new, we carry forward the core values and journalistic standards established over more than a century as the St. Petersburg Times. Nelson Poynter, the last individual to own the Times, regarded responsibility for a news organization as a 'sacred trust.'"
St. Petersburg, we want to hear from you. Do you agree with the name change? Is it a smart business move? Inevitable?
David Beil
7:42 am on Monday, January 2, 2012
Maybe it's time (no pun intended) for "The Patch" to change it's name to the "The St Petersburg Times". That would definitely increase it's readership and subscription base.
norma jean borger
8:11 am on Monday, January 2, 2012
in yesterdays paper,i read about bureaucrats in tampa were "the rulers over a vast region known as hillsborough county" ....this was a quote from W I Straub about a hundred years ago....well, this is a quote from me.....apparently the heirs of those bureaucrats are still alive,.....sooooooo, tell me...what is readership of new york times...i would guess it is worldwide.....so should they change new york times to "worldwide news"? normajean borger, brooksville,fla
Jessica Monzingo
9:21 am on Monday, January 2, 2012
If ~75% of the subscribers are from the region and not St. Petersburg, then that proves there was nothing wrong or insufficient with the name St. Petersburg Times to begin with. In addition it is a nationally recognized and award winning newspaper with its reputation built upon the name St. Petersburg Times. This name change was not made for us, the subscribers. If it had been then we would have been included in the decision. The name change was made to bring in more money from national advertisers. Why doesn't Mr. Tash just admit this in his letter to subscribers instead of trying to brainwash us into thinking this is a good idea?
My family has been in St. Petersburg for five generations. Not a single one of us is in support of the name change. I am personally tired of the regionalization or generalization of the Tampa Bay area. We can be proud of our region without everything being named "Tampa Bay (fill in the blank)." I am proud of St. Petersburg and am tired of being told I should give preference to the region above my hometown.
The reasoning we are being given for the name change is not good enough. I am an alumni of the University of South Florida (USF). I always thought of this school not being actually located in the southern region of Florida but more centrally located. One could say that it is even regionally located in the Tampa Bay area but have you ever thought once that they should change their name to the University of Tampa Bay?
Danie Huizenga
10:54 am on Monday, January 2, 2012
l think it was a BIG mistake......if it HAD to be changed...."Pinellas Gulf News" would have been more suitable.
Nancy Brown
11:23 am on Monday, January 2, 2012
Not in favor of the new name and ths is why: Will they be renaming the Orlando Sentinel the Central Florida Sentinel, or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Georgia Journal-Constitution, or the Miami Herald the South Florida Herald? NO, of course not, even though these papers reach many other surrounding cities and towns. Taking St. Petersburg out of the name of the newspaper just means they caved in to the ongoing battle between Tampa and St. Pete, nothing else. Too bad Tampa won out in this one.
Laura McGrath
12:05 pm on Monday, January 2, 2012
The Times has long served the entire Tampa Bay - and well beyond. Inideed, the St. Petersburg Times has a long and distinguished reputation. It seems a great pity to subvert such a well established and compelling brand. I sincerely hope that the promises made in yesterday's Times to uphold journalistic and editorial integrity will be kept for generations to come.
Phillip
12:12 pm on Monday, January 2, 2012
Oh Great, Tampa Trib & Tampa Times... Well Tampa Times kinda has a ring to it... Like Tommy Tunes. I voted 'Don't Care'... It will cost over a Million Dollars to change the signs on the buildings, billboards, rack-stands, trucks, cars, umbrellas, etc. They could have made a Bigger name for themselves if they just donated $100,000 to each of TEN Charities... Wounded Warrior, Veterans Village, Fisher House, Bay Pines VA, James Haley VA, Veterans Housing, etc. etc. SORRY, but for me there is no greater cause then to Help our Military and Veterans. Instead, a Million Dollars went for Paint and Signs... How's that for Community Commitment?
John Mohyla
3:36 pm on Monday, January 2, 2012
It would have been nice if the Times New Years Day Sunday Edition would have wished every one a Happy New Year on the front page. Thats what happens when it becomes the Tampa Bay Times.
Becky Sankner
9:30 pm on Monday, January 2, 2012
If the "St. Petersburg Times" had tended more to the news of interest to the people of St. Petersburg, instead of filing it way behind the news in the "outreach" regions, the paper would have a much higher readership from St. Petersburg. I'm not sure why it is so important to devour as much competition as possible, but it has nothing to do with either journalistic integrity or journalism which reflects the general priorities of its home readership. I am disappointed, because I, too have family who have lived in St. Petersburg for around one hundred years, and I have many copies of the "St. Petersburg Times" from years ago. It was a joy to read. Now I can get practically all the stories in the paper from several different sources on the internet. I don't care one bit about the 'Times getting a hockey stadium in Tampa, I care about it being loyal to the values and priorities of the community which sustained it from the beginning. The skill level is still at the 'Times, but, to me, it is being mis-used.
Leigh
12:42 pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The quality and balance of the Times died several years ago. Reporters regularly insert their opinions into the stories and nearly always oppose any organization or individual who doesn't support their liberal bias. I am a liberal but I want my news source to be balanced and based on facts...not rumors or one side of a multifaceted issue. As a former national award winning journalist I am embarrassed by the Times no matter what name is on the masthead.