The San Diego Union-Tribune sold to Alden Global Capital
Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has sold The San Diego Union-Tribune to an affiliate of the MediaNews Group for an undisclosed amount, it was announced on Monday.
Denver-based MediaNews Group is owned by Alden Global Capital, which owns roughly 200 publications, including the Chicago Tribune.
The News Group is the parent company of the Southern California News Group papers, among them the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Riverside Press-Enterprise, Daily Breeze, Long Beach Press-Telegram, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, Whittier Daily News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and Redlands Daily Facts.
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An email memo to employees of the Union-Tribune said the Soon-Shiong family “made a good faith effort to rebuild and support both news organizations. We hope that this change now will position both the L.A. Times and San Diego Union-Tribune to succeed. The ongoing work of transforming the L.A. Times into a self-sustaining institution will be our focus, as we believe that Los Angeles needs and deserves a strong, independent news organization.”
In a subsequent email sent to Union-Tribune employees from the MediaNews Group, Sharon Ryan, executive vice president of California for MediaNews Group, said that cutbacks will be needed to “offset the slowdown in revenues as economic headwinds continue to impact the media industry.”
An effort will be made, she said, to find efficiencies in business operations, distribution and production, “while striving to support and prioritize the robust, local newsgathering needed to serve the communities that rely on the Union-Tribune for excellence in journalism.”
Staff was notified Monday that the new owner is offering buyouts through next Monday. If the company does not “reach a sufficient number of employees” to take buyouts, “the company will lay off additional employees,” the staff was informed.
The Union-Tribune employs a total of 220 in the company with 108 in the newsroom.
Responding to the announcement, Union-Tribune Editor and Publisher Jeff Light said, “I’m grateful to the Soon-Shiong family, who were good owners. Now it’s time to start another chapter. As our staff knows, this isn’t an easy business, but I have a lot of confidence in the future of the Union-Tribune.”
The sale comes as the Los Angeles Times has had to make deep cuts of its own. The media organization recently announced it was eliminating 74 positions in its newsroom, which translates to about 13 percent of its staff.
Alden is the second-largest newspaper publisher in the country, behind Gannett, which owns USA Today and other papers.
The Union-Tribune, which has gone through a number of ownership changes, was sold to Platinum Equity in 2009, then to Douglas F. Manchester in 2012 and then to Tribune Publishing, which later became Tronc, in 2015, before its sale to Soon-Shiong.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
