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Mark Katches - Editor

Editor

As editor of the Tampa Bay Times, I oversee the largest newsroom in the state of Florida. Before that, I served as editor at The Oregonian in Portland. And before that I oversaw the newsroom at the Center for Investigative Reporting. As a young teenager, I wrote my first newspaper article for a little weekly called the Millbrae Sun, not far from San Francisco. The editor paid me 3 cents a word, and I was hooked for life. My professional career has spanned four decades. I have spent the largest portion of it building and running investigative reporting teams and have had the good fortune to have worked on a number of stories that sparked meaningful change. I love my family, our two crazy cockapoos and our journalistic mission. I believe strongly that local journalism makes an important difference in our community while offering tremendous opportunities to engage with readers – our neighbors. Write to me any time.

  1. Stevie Nicks brought her postponed tour to Tampa on Sunday night. This image is from a 2024 performance.
  2. In this 2019 photo, Ed Armstrong goes to hug his daughter Lexa, while wearing the honorary blazer for Mr. Clearwater. Armstrong died suddenly on Friday.
  3. The Tampa Bay Times announced its Education Hub on Wednesday, underscoring the newsroom's commitment to important local news coverage.
  4. Commenting forums are returning to tampabay.com, giving Tampa Bay Times subscribers a place to engage with each other and our journalism. Join the conversation.
  5. The Tampa Bay Times invites subscribers to have informed, meaningful discussions in the comments of tampabay.com articles.
  6. James Hetfield of Metallica performs during the band's M72 world tour at Raymond James Stadium on Friday in Tampa.
  7. Guitar hero Angus Young of AC/DC delivers an incendiary performance during the band's first Tampa Bay appearance in 17 years at a sold out Raymond James Stadium on Friday, May 16, 2025.
  8. Tampa Bay Times reporters Emily L. Mahoney, left, and Colleen Wright on assignment in 2024. Our annual "It's Your Times" campaign concludes at midnight Sunday.
  9. Tampa Bay Times investigative reporter Shreya Vuttaluru, right, speaks during a panel discussion about the project Wasting Away at Good Intentions in St. Petersburg. From left, Rebecca Woolington, deputy managing editor for investigations, moderated the panel that also featured investigative reporters Bethany Barnes and Zachary T. Sampson.
  10. Ashley, an orphaned manatee, was released into the wild after four years in captivity. She was rescued from the Indian River Lagoon when scientists found her swimming next to her dead mother who had starved. The story of the manatee "die-off" due to excessive pollution is detailed in a Tampa Bay Times investigation.
  11. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he exits after a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. before he was elected the 47th president of the United States.
  12. A construction crane is pictured after falling over during Hurricane Milton into an office building that houses the Tampa Bay Times headquarters, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024.
  13. After a flurry of stories from the Tampa Bay Times on the state's plans to build golf courses, pickleball courts and hotels on treasured parkland, protesters rallied against the administration's efforts. The plan was dropped.
  14. After an assassination attempt that left him injured, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
  15. Tampa Bay Times reporter Michaela Mulligan, right, speaks with University of South Florida St. Petersburg adjunct professor Elliott Wiser during the recording of a podcast in St. Petersburg last fall.
  16. Times reporters Rebecca Liebson, left, and Teghan Simonton interview Ayesha Evans in February for their series Buying Up the Bay. The project, which details the rise of corporate ownership of rental properties throughout Tampa Bay, is just one of the types of stories that readers support when they contribute to our It's Your Times campaign.
  17. • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Indicted local media figure Tim Burke had a celebrated career as a journalist. But can he still claim to be one?
  18. Fire Chief Barbara Tripp initiated a call to Tampa Police after a Tampa Bay Times reporter sought public records last month at Tampa Fire Rescue's downtown headquarters. Tripp ordered a department dispatcher to summon the cops. A 911 call was placed by a department dispatcher a minute later.
  19. The Tampa Bay Times investigation about kratom earlier this month spanned more than 16,000 words.
  20. The first drone photos of Florida's Horseshoe Beach in the Big Bend area show it was inundated.
  21. The Tampa Bay Times has launched  its annual weeklong fundraiser to support local news.
  22. Several media publishers across the U.S., including the Tampa Bay Times, have dropped the comic strip Dilbert after creator Scott Adams described Black people as members of “a hate group" and made other racist remarks.