Media General Inc., which owns three metro newspapers -- The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal -- announced this week plans to consolidate editing for their newsrooms.

“The consolidated metro editing and design operation will have two groups, one in Tampa, Fla., and one in Richmond, Va.,” a release explained. “The operation will be led by a single managing editor located at the Richmond facility. Each of the two groups will have primary responsibility for particular sections and pages for all three metro newspapers. The next steps are to select the managing editor, install common production software and establish common design elements that will facilitate production efficiencies. The consolidated operation is expected to start up in the third quarter of this year.”

Another loss in the desperately needed world of front-line editing that catches most problems.