Back when it started, TBO.com was a pioneering website, easy to navigate with lots of good info fed into it from a robust Tampa Tribune and WFLA-TV newsroom.

Today, 15 years after its birth, TBO.com is the growth engine on Parker Street for Media General, but it is a shadow of itself content-wise. It also uses video poorly (given all its access to video from owning the top-rated local TV station) and has an absolutely incomprehensible and unnavigable blog structure.

That hasn’t stopped its owners from celebrating, as this official statement crows:

August 11, 2009 –  Today, TBO.com celebrates 15 years of serving the Tampa Bay community online.   August 11, 1994 marked the first date of online publishing for TBO.com, making The Tampa Tribune one of the first newspapers in the nation with a dedicated news Web site.

… Today, TBO.com serves more than 3 million unique visitors each month with well over 20 million page views every month.  TBO.com recently introduced new interactive elements to its site including VIPIR Interactive Radar from Storm Team 8 allowing users to zoom down to street level and view storms just above their neighborhoods.   TBOsnap.com launched as the new user video submission tool, allowing Tampa Bay residents to record news and report it straight from their video cell phones via e-mail to myshots@tbosnap.com.  Also as a leader in mobile Web technology, m.tbo.com recently released news and weather videos on the iphone platform and is receiving record views from TBO mobile iphone users.

“The biggest change in 15 years has been the growth of digital news – first on the Web, and now on mobile and social networks. We’re proud of the team that’s dedicated to the success of this 24 hour news service and that continues to work every day to make us Tampa’s No.1 source for breaking news,” says TBO.com’s Content Director, Loren Omoto.

RICHMOND, Va., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG – News) today reported net income for the second quarter of 2009 of $20.6 million, or 90 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $532.2 million in the 2008 period, which included a non-cash, after-tax impairment charge of $532.1 million. The current quarter included a $7.1 million after-tax gain on the sale of a CW television station in Jacksonville, Fla., a $3.6 million tax benefit that resulted from a favorable determination concerning a state tax issue, and $7.5 million of tax benefits attributable to the company’s first-half results from continuing operations. Excluding severance expense from both quarters, and last year’s impairment charge, income from continuing operations before taxes was $3.8 million in 2009’s second quarter compared with $2.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

“A 23-percent decrease in total operating costs year-over-year was a major contributor to the company’s improved operating results, helping to offset a 20 percent revenue decline. Actions driving the lower expenses included reductions in force across the company, a furlough program, a suspension of matching in the company’s 401(k) plan in 2009, and the final freeze of the company’s pension plan effective May 31, 2009. Service accruals ceased in the partial freeze of the plan in 2006 and now future salary increases do not affect retirement benefits. Media General has implemented many difficult but necessary expense reductions that strengthen our ability to weather the deep recession and recognize the reduced revenue streams available in our business. As a result, we are in a stronger position to take advantage of an economic recovery,” said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer.

“Our aggressive cost elimination actions were particularly evident in our Publishing segment, which generated a $12 million profit in the current quarter compared with $6.8 million in the prior-year. Publishing revenues declined 20.3 percent in the second quarter, about the same as the first quarter. We saw the rate of Classified advertising declines abate somewhat in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2009, mostly in the automotive category, and particularly in our Florida, Virginia and Alabama markets. The decline in Retail advertising in the current period was also less severe than in the first quarter of 2009.

Gays and straights alike carried red flags (a comment on a Media General exec who said the station viewed Speechless: Silencing Christians and “it didn’t raise any red flags”) and signs relabeling the NBC affiliate in Tampa Bay as News Channel H8 on Wednesday afternoon. More than 100 protesters gathered along Kennedy Boulevard in front of the station’s News Center to draw attention to the hate program that was aired for what they believe was $35,000 paid by a Christian group.

In a sign of political courage, Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder attended the rally and said of News Channel 8’s decision,”This is not who Tampa is. This type of hate is just not acceptable in our community.” Dingfelder is running for a County Commission seat, a demographic that is much more to the right than the city of Tampa where he has served two terms.

Watch CL video coverage of the rally after the jump.

After more than 27 years at WFLA, Channel 8, news anchor Bill Ratliff is leaving the station in June, station officials announced today.

“It’s been a great ride but the economy did me in,” said Ratliff, who has been on the News Channel 8 morning newscasts for 20 years.

Ratliff said he was offered a new contract for fewer hours and much less pay.

“I decided that it made more sense financially to leave now and take a severance package,” he said.

Who will say, “Oh yeah” when Gayle Guyardo goes off during Gasparilla Parade coverage? Who will wear the boots with the furrrrr??

Here’s a look back at a WFLA morning show promo with a younger Ratliff:

And more bad earnings for News Channel 8 parent Media General after the jump:

Media General, which owns The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and WFLA, Channel 8, says it lost $21.3 million, or 96 cents per share, in the January-March period. That compares with a loss of $20.3 million, or 92 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company says its loss included $4.5 million, or 20 cents per share, in severance costs.

It says revenue fell 18 percent to $159 million.

Details:

First, News Channel 8 is killing its midday newscast. Anchored by Gayle Guyardo and Bill Ratliff, the 11 a.m. newscast just wasn’t attracting advertisers, station officials said in a TBO.com report.

[News Director Don] North says the cutbacks at WFLA are the result of the continuing decline of advertising that is affecting television stations throughout the country.

“Advertisers just aren’t buying the 11 a.m. newscast,” he says. There has not been a decision made on what will replace the newscast, he added.

“Midday” anchors Bill Ratliff and Gayle Guyardo will continue on the “News Channel 8″ morning newscasts and contribute to online coverage.

More shocking is the loss of the Tampa Tribune,’s Sunday BayLife section, home to Twitter-champ Jeff Houck’s food writing. Not surprising from the standpoint of a dearth of ads in the section, but stunning from a readability angle. It is the only section of the now-miserable Sunday Trib that was worth reading, for Houck and for the gardening info alone, stuff you don’t see a whole lot of in other local publications.

The story gives no indication what will happen to that content, so I’m checking to see what I can hear.

Updates after the jump:

UPDATE: Word is that Trib’s Pasco reporters were told the bureau in that county is closing. No details on what happens to the scribes stationed there.

UPDATE 2: TBO.com updates to include this:

More details were also unveiled about changes to the Tribune and other print products.

•Production of lifestyle publications, Skirt and Flair, will cease.

•The Saturday newspaper will now be formatted like the Monday through Friday paper. That means the news section will be one section now, and the stand-alone Business and Views sections will cease. Business news will appear on the back of the Sports section, as it does now during the week.

•The format of the T.V. book will be slimmed down but still include all the listings and some editorial.

•BayLife Magazine will be eliminated.

•News bureaus are closing, although the sections they produce won’t change. Staffers will either work out of one of two satellite offices or out of the main newspaper office in downtown Tampa.

The Brandon and Plant City offices will be sold to generate cash, said Janet Coats, vice president of news for the Florida Communications Group.

The other offices are leased, she said, and not renewing those leases will save money.

The highest profile was sports co-anchor Dave Reynolds, one of a handful of journalists of color at the TV station. From The Feed:

Reynolds, 45, had been covering sports with one other anchor, Dan Lucas; he said WFLA never really named another lead sports anchor after former top dog J.P. Peterson left more than a year ago. The change also means WFLA has just three people of color among an on-air staff of 26 reporters and anchors.

Now, Reynolds says WFLA plans to use more staffers from the Tampa Tribune to help report sports stories on air. The station also has cut back the Sunday Sports Extra show, he says.

“It’s obviously tremendously disappointing,” adds Reynolds, who has a wife and 4-year-old son. “After a certain while, you think you might be safe…This year was arguably the biggest year ever for sports in the Tampa Bay area, with the World Series and Super Bowl and so many other stories. for us to do what we did with two people…we worked very hard.”

UPDATE: Re/Creating Tampa’s take is titled “Tribune Death Watch.”

Employees of Media General Inc., the Richmond, Va., parent of The Tampa Tribune, News Channel 8, TBO.com and Centro, will take a mandatory 10 days off without pay during the remainder of the year, President and Chief Executive Marshall N. Morton said in an e-mail to workers this afternoon.

“So far in 2009, economic and corporate earnings reports have been worse than expected,” Morton said in announcing the furlough plan.

“Despite aggressive sales initiatives and significant cost reductions, I regret to report that we need to build in additional expense savings to offset the revenue shortfalls our divisions anticipate.”

From: MG Employee Communications
Sent: Mon 1/19/2009
Subject: Letter from Marshall Morton

Dear Fellow Employees,

Media General faces an extremely tough business climate in 2009. On the positive side, we got an early start addressing the softening economy and have significantly reduced expenses. We are ahead of many of our peers in implementing sound strategies to address the changes underway in our business. However, the deep global recession is making it difficult to forecast business performance for 2009. We anticipate continued revenue declines in nearly all advertising categories. It is prudent in times of uncertainty to manage our business and cash flow conservatively.

As part of our efforts to manage the business during the recession and the current uncertain economic environment, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the company’s matching contribution to the MG Advantage 401(k) plan, effective April 1 through the end of this year. When our financial performance improves, we will reinstate the company match as quickly as possible. This change impacts the company match only, not your personal 401(k) plan contributions. In the coming weeks you will receive an additional notice of the change in the 401(k) match.

Also related to the 401(k) plan, based on our outlook for the year, we do not anticipate a level of earnings in 2009 that would generate a 401(k) plan profit sharing contribution. Should business conditions improve we will reinstate the profit sharing contributions.

As disappointing as these measures are, we must continue to align expenses with the current business climate. I know the fact that Media General is not alone in having to make these decisions does not alleviate the disappointment we all feel. Nevertheless, I know that you understand how important it is to focus on the many ways we are accelerating our response to the rapid changes in our business so that we can position ourselves for long-term growth and prosperity. We all play a critical role in this effort.

We have a culture of innovation at Media General. You have demonstrated that you know our markets and you live our values. Clearly, you are eager to help pull us into the future. I am proud of our accomplishments, and I thank you for all your hard work.

Yours sincerely,
Marshall N. Morton
President and Chief Executive Officer

Headlines after the jump …

• Folo-up: Ann Coulter appears on The Today Show; no NBC ban. ‘I don’t think I would be sitting here if it wasn’t for a headline on Drudge.”
• Equality Florida: Hillsborough’s anti-gay pride library policy “under review.”
• Sansom’s damage control efforts.
• Cleaning up after Buddy: Phyllis’ first days in office.
• Media General’s Hernando Today cuts publication on Monday and Tuesday.
• Who’s in and who’s out for the Senate seat from Florida in 2010.
• Marco Rubio’s in.
• Who is Florida’s most maverick congressperson?
• Roland Burris denied.

[Financial difficulties at the Trib haven't] stopped Tribune parent Media General Inc. from moving forward with new projects, including a luxury focused magazine the publisher created with a Tampa media group and expects to launch during Super Bowl XLIII.

Called Blu, the new magazine is a joint partnership between Media General (NYSE: MEG) and South Tampa Magazine publisher Fourthdoor Creative Group. The two organizations formed Rain Publishing Group in July and a sales team hit the streets to sell ad space costing between $1,800 and more than $13,100.

At the same time, Blu bought a sponsorship said to cost nearly $60,000 from the Super Bowl Host Committee, the group bringing the National Football League’s biggest game to Tampa in February. The sponsorship includes a kickoff event for the magazine during festivities leading up to the Super Bowl, said John Schueler, president of Media General’s Florida Communications Group and the representative for the Richmond, Va., publishing giant with Rain Publishing.