Stephen Buckley named publisher of tampabay.com

By Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer
In print: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

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St. Petersburg Times managing editor Stephen Buckley has been named publisher of tampabay.com, a new position designed to sharpen and accelerate the Times' push into electronic publishing.

Buckley, 41, said he wants to capitalize on the company's work on the Web site, especially by increasing revenue. He said the potential of technology is constantly changing and he'll go into the position with an open mind.

"This is such an important part of our business," said Buckley, who will start the post in mid June. "We want to be a leading force among newspaper Web sites in the United States."

In the past six months, tampabay.com averaged 1.5-million unique visitors monthly. Tampabay.com has been on Editor & Publisher's list of top 30 largest newspaper Web sites for the past three months.

Paul Tash, chairman, CEO and editor of the Times, said he chose Buckley for his credibility at the newspaper.

"He's a very quick study, and he has terrific judgment," Tash said.

Buckley, the son of Jamaican immigrants, got his start at the Times as a 16-year-old intern. A graduate of Duke University, Buckley was a metro reporter for the Washington Post before working as a foreign correspondent in Nairobi, Kenya, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Buckley returned to the Times in 2001 as a national reporter and became managing editor in 2005.

"These are big shoes to fill in the newsroom," said Neil Brown, executive editor and vice president. "I'll work with my colleagues to figure out the most effective way to organize our news-gathering operations."

Buckley and his wife, Cathleen, live in St. Petersburg and have two children: Olivia, 11, and David, 9.

Stephanie Garry can be reached at (727) 892-2374 or

sgarry@sptimes.com.