Advertisement

Mike Sherman joins Tampa Bay Times as new sports editor

 
Mike Sherman, new Tampa Bay Times sports editor
Mike Sherman, new Tampa Bay Times sports editor
Published June 29, 2016

One of the country's top sports editors is coming to the Tampa Bay Times.

Mike Sherman, who has led the highly acclaimed sports department of the Oklahoman newspaper and its website NewsOK.com in Oklahoma City the past 14 years, has been named the new sports editor of the Times.

Sherman comes to the Times after building one of the best sports sections in the country at the Oklahoman. In the past nine years with Sherman in charge, the Oklahoman has finished in the top 10 of daily, Sunday, special section and website categories in the Associated Press Sports Editor competition 18 times. And the Oklahoman was one of only five news organizations to place among the Top 10 newspaper websites all six years it competed in the largest classification of the APSE digital contest, which began in 2009, along with the New York Times, USA Today, the New York Daily News and the Washington Post.

In making the announcement, Times editor Neil Brown said, "Mike fostered a collaborative culture putting an emphasis on writing, ideas and digital innovation. In a market obsessed with the powerhouses of University of Oklahoma football and basketball, plus the emergence of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike is familiar with need to drive the sports agenda and serve the voracious appetites of sports readers."

Sherman, 53, is a native of Maryland, but has spent much of his life in Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma, worked at the Oklahoman as a sports writer, then had stints in West Chester, Pa., Utica, N.Y., and at the Tennessean in Nashville.

"I have long admired the Times' journalism and commitment to Tampa Bay," Sherman said. "I can't wait to contribute and learn from the best."

Sherman is also one of the industry's top leaders. He recently completed a year as president of APSE and remains a member of that organization's executive committee.

The hiring of Sherman, Brown said, marks a new day in Tampa Bay sports coverage.

"(This) presents us with an opportunity to bolster our connection with sports readers and re-invest in and re-imagine sports coverage," Brown said.

Sherman is expected to begin his new role in early August, just in time for football season.