The Tampa Tribune was purchased by a private equity investment group, and beginning today will be operated by a newly created, locally based company called the Tampa Media Group.
The Tribune's longtime corporate owner, Virginia-based Media General Inc., announced the transaction this morning, transferring ownership of the Tribune, its affiliated newspapers and TBO.com to the Los Angeles-based Revolution Capital Group.
Here's the story from Tbo.com:
Revolution Capital founder and managing partner Robert Loring said some investment funds might look at buying a newspaper as "contrarian," but the Tribune "checked many of the boxes we were looking for in terms of our criteria." That includes long-running operations, established customers and the potential to add value with investment in new technology. Asked if their plan was to buy, cut costs and resell the Tribune, Loring said it was not. "We are definitely in this for the long haul. We don't flip businesses." The deal represents a substantial financial investment, Barker said, and means that Tampa will continue to have a newspaper that is locally produced and printed in the city and reflects the values and concerns of the community.
