Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Chicago Tribune deal wags San Diego tail

San Diego hires more flacks while begging money from Washington

Chicago Tribune tower, North Michigan Ave.
Chicago Tribune tower, North Michigan Ave.

How soon for Soon-Shiong?

The controversial takeover of Tribune Publishing by hedge fund Alden Global Capital may turn out to be good news for the San Diego Union-Tribune, but not until the close of a Faustian bargain. Bought by super-rich physician Patrick Soon-Shiong from Chicago-based Tribune three years ago in a $500 million deal that included the Los Angeles Times and a raft of local weeklies, the U-T has continued to shrink in both print advertising and circulation. Though the operation is private, outsiders estimate that it may be losing millions of dollars a year, requiring hefty subsidies from Soon-Shiong. Now comes word that the L.A. billionaire, who still owns about 25 percent of Tribune Publishing, may be set to realize a considerable cash windfall resulting from the sale of Tribune to Alden in a $630 million deal. As part of the arrangement, Tribune’s Baltimore Sun and accompanying weeklies would be sold to a non-profit run by that city’s Stewart Bainum Jr., a UCLA alumnus. He increased his fortune with family-owned ManorCare nursing homes and Choice Hotels. Once a state legislator, Bainum ran as a Democrat for a congressional seat from Maryland but lost to a Republican in 1986.

How long will Patrick Soon-Shiong hang on to the Union-Tribune?

The complicated Alden acquisition of Tribune, requiring regulatory approval and Soon-Shiong’s final signoff, would give the hedge fund free rein to slash more news budgets and lay off reporters, as it has at its other newspaper properties. That’s why opponents of the move hope Soon-Shiong will decide to veto the deal. But such an outcome is unlikely, opines newspaper business analyst Rick Edmunds in a Poynter.org piece regarding the rough road traveled by the L.A. Times and U-T following Soon-Shiong’s takeover. “In the two-and-a-half years since he has lost a lot more money than he had anticipated,” says Edmunds. “Plenty of work, including finding a new editor, remains. I would bet that getting out with a good return on his investment will be Soon-Shiong’s main or sole objective.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cash derived by Soon-Shiong from the Tribune sale, speculation goes, could be deployed to keep his struggling California news outlets afloat while he continues to figure out how to revive them. “Look for all or nearly all Tribune properties to join Alden’s MediaNews Group family — once also widely known as Digital First Media — by later this year,” says Edmunds. “Those holdings include The Denver Post, The Orange County Register, Boston Herald, and groups of dailies in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas. Then look for Alden to run its new conquests the same way it has its old ones.”

Mason Slaine, described in a February 16 Chicago Tribune dispatch as a “former media executive” who owns eight percent of Tribune Publishing, told the paper, “Despite all the talk about saving the papers and community interest, no one stepped up.”

Late Friday, February 19, Soon-Shiong denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he was considering dumping both the Times and Union-Tribune, with the San Diego paper possibly destined for the hands of Alden Global Capital.

Come hell or flack attacks

While the San Diego city council continues to lobby for more federal tax dollars to weather the financial storm of the Covid-19 pandemic, P.R. patronage hires continue to pad the payroll. Christopher Chan, an ex-TV news reporter from NBC affiliate KNSD, assumed office on January 11 as a “program coordinator,” according to his statement of economic interests filed February 10. On Twitter, where Chan has retweeted the opinions of those against the recall of his boss, council president Jen Campbell, he’s identified as Council Communications Director. That was the gig last held by ex-City Beat editor David Rolland under former council president Georgette Gomez, whose bid for congress against fellow Democrat and Qualcomm heiress Sara Jacobs went up in flames last year.

Like Governor Newsom, councilwoman Jen Campbell faces a fierce recall effort.

Rolland is currently billed as Senior Advisor of Communications to Mayor Todd Gloria...San Diego Democrats’ battle over who will have the upper hand in next year’s race for California Secretary of State is shaping up to be a hard-fought contest between at least two high-funded candidates — unless one of them blinks first. Shirley Weber, the ex-Assembly Democrat named Secretary of State by Governor Gavin Newsom following Newsom’s elevation of Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate, has already hit up an array of big-money donors for her 2022 election campaign. February 9 givers included the California Dental Association Political Action Committee and Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, which kicked in $8100 each. The Govern for California Courage Committee, run by San Francisco’s David Crane, a one-time economic advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gave the same on February 2. The political action committee of Professional Engineers in California Government, a labor group, came up with $16,200 on February 8. A total of $8800 of Crane’s money, along with the same from California Courage, previously went to ex-San Diego city council Republican-turned-independent Mark Kerseysn ultimately failed bid for the state Assembly in December 2017.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Chicago Tribune tower, North Michigan Ave.
Chicago Tribune tower, North Michigan Ave.

How soon for Soon-Shiong?

The controversial takeover of Tribune Publishing by hedge fund Alden Global Capital may turn out to be good news for the San Diego Union-Tribune, but not until the close of a Faustian bargain. Bought by super-rich physician Patrick Soon-Shiong from Chicago-based Tribune three years ago in a $500 million deal that included the Los Angeles Times and a raft of local weeklies, the U-T has continued to shrink in both print advertising and circulation. Though the operation is private, outsiders estimate that it may be losing millions of dollars a year, requiring hefty subsidies from Soon-Shiong. Now comes word that the L.A. billionaire, who still owns about 25 percent of Tribune Publishing, may be set to realize a considerable cash windfall resulting from the sale of Tribune to Alden in a $630 million deal. As part of the arrangement, Tribune’s Baltimore Sun and accompanying weeklies would be sold to a non-profit run by that city’s Stewart Bainum Jr., a UCLA alumnus. He increased his fortune with family-owned ManorCare nursing homes and Choice Hotels. Once a state legislator, Bainum ran as a Democrat for a congressional seat from Maryland but lost to a Republican in 1986.

How long will Patrick Soon-Shiong hang on to the Union-Tribune?

The complicated Alden acquisition of Tribune, requiring regulatory approval and Soon-Shiong’s final signoff, would give the hedge fund free rein to slash more news budgets and lay off reporters, as it has at its other newspaper properties. That’s why opponents of the move hope Soon-Shiong will decide to veto the deal. But such an outcome is unlikely, opines newspaper business analyst Rick Edmunds in a Poynter.org piece regarding the rough road traveled by the L.A. Times and U-T following Soon-Shiong’s takeover. “In the two-and-a-half years since he has lost a lot more money than he had anticipated,” says Edmunds. “Plenty of work, including finding a new editor, remains. I would bet that getting out with a good return on his investment will be Soon-Shiong’s main or sole objective.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Cash derived by Soon-Shiong from the Tribune sale, speculation goes, could be deployed to keep his struggling California news outlets afloat while he continues to figure out how to revive them. “Look for all or nearly all Tribune properties to join Alden’s MediaNews Group family — once also widely known as Digital First Media — by later this year,” says Edmunds. “Those holdings include The Denver Post, The Orange County Register, Boston Herald, and groups of dailies in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas. Then look for Alden to run its new conquests the same way it has its old ones.”

Mason Slaine, described in a February 16 Chicago Tribune dispatch as a “former media executive” who owns eight percent of Tribune Publishing, told the paper, “Despite all the talk about saving the papers and community interest, no one stepped up.”

Late Friday, February 19, Soon-Shiong denied a report by the Wall Street Journal that he was considering dumping both the Times and Union-Tribune, with the San Diego paper possibly destined for the hands of Alden Global Capital.

Come hell or flack attacks

While the San Diego city council continues to lobby for more federal tax dollars to weather the financial storm of the Covid-19 pandemic, P.R. patronage hires continue to pad the payroll. Christopher Chan, an ex-TV news reporter from NBC affiliate KNSD, assumed office on January 11 as a “program coordinator,” according to his statement of economic interests filed February 10. On Twitter, where Chan has retweeted the opinions of those against the recall of his boss, council president Jen Campbell, he’s identified as Council Communications Director. That was the gig last held by ex-City Beat editor David Rolland under former council president Georgette Gomez, whose bid for congress against fellow Democrat and Qualcomm heiress Sara Jacobs went up in flames last year.

Like Governor Newsom, councilwoman Jen Campbell faces a fierce recall effort.

Rolland is currently billed as Senior Advisor of Communications to Mayor Todd Gloria...San Diego Democrats’ battle over who will have the upper hand in next year’s race for California Secretary of State is shaping up to be a hard-fought contest between at least two high-funded candidates — unless one of them blinks first. Shirley Weber, the ex-Assembly Democrat named Secretary of State by Governor Gavin Newsom following Newsom’s elevation of Alex Padilla to the U.S. Senate, has already hit up an array of big-money donors for her 2022 election campaign. February 9 givers included the California Dental Association Political Action Committee and Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, which kicked in $8100 each. The Govern for California Courage Committee, run by San Francisco’s David Crane, a one-time economic advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, gave the same on February 2. The political action committee of Professional Engineers in California Government, a labor group, came up with $16,200 on February 8. A total of $8800 of Crane’s money, along with the same from California Courage, previously went to ex-San Diego city council Republican-turned-independent Mark Kerseysn ultimately failed bid for the state Assembly in December 2017.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About doTERRA

Next Article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader