Brian Burns will become the new publisher of the Tampa Tribune after a seven-month search by owner Tampa Media Group.
Brian Burns replaces publisher Bill Barker, who left the job to for a similar position at the Naples Daily News.
Burns, 40, had served as Tribune’s vice president of sales and advertising, a position he held since November 2013.
Burns’ role will be to oversee the Tribune news and business operations, like that of the St. Petersburg Tribune, TBO.com, Centro and other Media Group properties. Before arriving in Tampa, he worked at Adiant.com, a digital advertising systems firm, as well as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the North Jersey Media Group.
“We’re impressed with him,” Tampa Media Group COO Jeff Gray told the Tampa Bay Times. “That’s why we selected him over all the other candidates.”
Burns will continue to direct the company’s advertising department, Gray said, and Media Group will not fill his former position as vice president of sales and advertising.
