The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868.
"The Evening Tribune" redirects here. For the New York newspaper, see The Evening Tribune (Hornell).Type
William Jeff Gatewood
Jeff Light
1868 (as The San Diego Union)
English
600 B Street
San Diego, California, United States
121,321 Daily
160,154 Sunday (as of 2017)[1]
Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, The San Diego Union and the San Diego Evening Tribune. The name changed to U-T San Diego in 2012 but was changed again to The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015.[2]
In 2015, the newspaper was acquired by Tribune Publishing. In February 2018 it was announced to be sold, along with the Los Angeles Times, to Patrick Soon-Shiong's investment firm Nant Capital LLC for $500 million plus $90 million in pension liabilities.[3] The sale was completed on June 18, 2018.[4] In July 2023, Soon-Shiong sold the paper to Alden Global Capital.[5]
Headquarters[edit]
The newspaper was originally located in Old Town San Diego, and was moved to downtown San Diego in 1871. In 1973, it moved to a custom-built, brick and stone office and printing plant complex in Mission Valley.
The newspaper moved back downtown in May 2016, to offices on the 9th through 12th floors of a tower at 600 B Street. The Union-Tribune was to be the named tenant of the building, replacing Bridgepoint Education and, before that, Comerica.[31]
Criticisms[edit]
Copleys and Platinum Equity[edit]
Under the Copleys' ownership, the newspaper had a reliably conservative editorial position, endorsing almost exclusively Republicans for elective office, and sometimes refusing to interview or cover Democratic candidates.
Under Platinum Equity, the newspaper's editorial position "skewed closer to the middle" and showcased multiple viewpoints.[36]
Manchester and Lynch[edit]
When Manchester and business partner John Lynch took ownership in 2011, Lynch stated on KPBS radio that he and Manchester "wanted to be cheerleaders for all that is good in San Diego".[37] Lynch expanded on this position in 2012, saying "We make no apologies. We are doing what a newspaper ought to do, which is to take positions. We are very consistent—pro-conservative, pro-business, pro-military—and we are trying to make a newspaper that gets people excited about this city and its future."[38]
This open promotion of certain viewpoints resulted in criticism from journalism professors and other newspaper editors, who worried that negative news about topics such as the military and business might not be covered.[39] Dean Nelson, director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University, argued, "Now if you're saying we're going to be the cheerleaders of the military, why would you report on this guy that's taking bribes?... Where's the cheerleading there?" a reference to the Union-Tribune's Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of the Duke Cunningham bribery scandal.[40] A New York Times writer added, "There is a growing worry that the falling value and failing business models of many American newspapers could lead to a situation where moneyed interests buy papers and use them to prosecute a political and commercial agenda. That future appears to have arrived in San Diego."[38]
Lynch said, "We totally respect the journalistic integrity of our paper and there is a clear line of demarcation between our editorials and our news. Our editor, Jeff Light, calls the shots." However, in November 2011 Lynch told the sports editor that the sports pages should advocate for a new football stadium; when a longtime sportswriter wrote skeptically about the idea, he was fired.[38]