Owners of Tampa Bay Rays, Lightning and Bucs will discuss the business of sports

The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism, announced today that it will convene the owners of the three major professional sports franchises in the Tampa Bay area in a rare joint appearance at the Institute on Feb. 29.

Jeffrey Vinik, owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League; Stuart Sternberg, principal owner of Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball; and Bryan Glazer, co-chairman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League will speak with the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and members of the general public about business trends and issues in pro sports.

“APSE is pleased to be involved in such an educational and rewarding evening,” APSE Executive Director Jack Berninger said. “Because of busy schedules and hectic paces, our members don’t often have the opportunity to sit back and listen to such a high-powered panel, so that makes this event even more exciting and valuable.”

This unique conversation is a highlight of the 2016 APSE winter meeting held at The Poynter Institute, and is the first of four planned community conversations as part of the institute’s annual speaker series.

“This is a time of great change in both the media business and professional sports, so this is an opportune time for the owners, sports editors and the public to discuss the issues of the day, and the future,” said Poynter President Tim Franklin. “One of the Institute’s main missions is to convene thoughtful discussions that advance the public’s understanding of vital matters. We’re thrilled that these owners and the sports editors have chosen Poynter as the place for that conversation.”

A limited number of seats will be available to the general public. For more information, visit http://www.poynter.org/sports

About The Poynter Institute

The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 330,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute’s website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world’s top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.