Poynter Institute Faces Financial Woes, Top Execs Pocket Large Paychecks

-- The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists that also owns the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, has begun to recruit new philanthropy experts and also explore the possibility of land sales.

That's according to Poynter facing financial squeeze, published by the Tampa Tribune, which says the nonprofit Institute's traditional source of funding has been profits from its Tampa newspaper.

With the newspaper industry continuing to struggle financially, however, the Times is reportedly no longer able to bankroll Poynter's operations.

Even so, the Tribune indicates, Poynter's top executives have been raking in hefty paychecks.

More from the Tribune's article, published June 2, 2012:

""These have been difficult times," said Poynter President Karen Dunlap. The institute's posh campus with the bay view makes "a number of people think there's a huge pot of gold in a closet somewhere in Poynter. That's not true. I've looked."

That acknowledgment, along with an April 24 online advertisement for the Poynter philanthropy job, opens a rare window into the financial status of the normally private Times operation.

The Times sells more copies than any newspaper in Florida and often advocates for transparency in major institutions, yet the paper declines to provide details on operations, including revenue, profits, layoffs and annual contributions to Poynter....

According to the most currently available IRS documents, Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash took home a salary and bonus totaling $518,261 in 2010. Dunlap was paid $261,291, while Poynter treasurer and Times Chief Financial Officer Jana Jones received $300,610."

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