Comments on: Farewell to a dying friend

By: hong kong willie

hong kong willie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:19:39 +0000

they failed to keep up with the new world.

By: MikeM

MikeM — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:07:15 +0000

It’s official! Tampa is now a one newspaper town (and it ain’t the Trib).

By: Jackie Ross

Jackie Ross — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:14:01 +0000

I think that pretty soon our dear beloved old Trib…(which, Brother Bob, I cancelled the day they were silly enough to let you go, as did many others)will be a large Friday Extra, or a fat TBT spinoff, as the new layouts are a joke….I now buy the St Pete Times and have for over a year now.
When the Trib asked me why I was cancelling.. I told them exactly why. Most of all…to Brother Lee and Pola and Holly-Berry…And you all who have deep animal souls and wrote, we are keeping everything crossed!!Love JJ

By: breadlover

breadlover — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:10:25 +0000

Bob Ross’ gentle post was more than the Trib deserves. In fact, the Tribune’s real decline began when the johnny-come-lately powers-that-be decided to lay off Bob and David O’Keeffe, two marquee names and talents who were respected and enjoyed by readers and were ambassadors in the community. Not to mention the TV viewers who listened to Bob’s movie reviews on Channel 8 every week. When talented people like that are laid off over ridiculous editors, well, that says it all. Bob should be saying good riddance to the paper, but he’s too much of a gentleman.

By: Clark

Clark — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:41:10 +0000

The New Coke version of the Tribune is going to be scrapped starting Monday due to “overwhelming reader demand”. I just saw the commercial…err, news story on channel 8.

By: John

John — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:59:18 +0000

Sorry to hear about your brother’s dog, Bob. And I’m with you on the “new” Tribune. I actually saw the paper yesterday for the first time in a while and wasn’t impressed. Not a huge fan of the Times, but was a Tribune reader for years. Was.

By: junebee

junebee — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:15:15 +0000

Like you, Bob, I was a Trib employee, though short-term just a few years ago. I too stuck by the paper, but when they cancelled Joseph Brown, I cancelled my subscription. The carrier delivered a copy this past Wednesday anyway. The new Trib is so sliced and diced, it’s hard to read, and I didn’t like the gigantic-one-section format either. I didn’t like the previous changes, but I hung in there as a loyal subscriber. I can no longer justify that loyalty.

By: Clyde

Clyde — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:21:31 +0000

The fate of the Tribune is tied to out-of-state corporate ownership. When newspapers are no longer owned locally they ultimately suffer. The Poynter Institute, owner of the Times, is local. While not exempt from the laws of economics, it also is not subject to “next quarter earnings” problems. Moving to Tampa after reading the Washington Post for 40 years, I have found the Tribune pathetic. The St Pete Times has some idea of how to run a newspaper, although they sometimes have trouble figuring out what the front page lead hould be.(Hint: it isn’t always about sports, guys.)