San Diego’s only daily newspaper has announced “multiple” layoffs and an end to The Californian covering Temecula and southern Riverside County.
San Diego’s Union-Tribune made the announcement Tuesday eliminating the section of U-T San Diego that employed 10 reporters.
Citing sources at the U-T, KPBS reported Tuesday the layoffs included several people in sales.
CEO John Lynch told the Associated Press the paper’s research showed readers respected the coverage and quality of the U-T brand over the recently acquired The Californian and North County Times.
As a result, he and publisher Douglas F. Manchester turned the North County Times into a special regional edition and decided to stop publishing The Californian section.
"The fact is that the financial model for both the Californian and the North County Times was broken," Lynch told the AP. "We are interested in creating -- and maintaining -- healthy, sustainable multiplatform products for years to come."
Former columnist for The Californian, John Hunneman, posted this comment on a popular media industry blog, “Try giving your daily newspaper a 2:30 p.m. deadline, wiping out their ability to cover prep sports and stuff like, I don't know, NEWS, and see how they do.”
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Hunneman said he worked for The Californian for 19 years and left when the U-T took ownership. He now writes for the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The San Diego Union-Tribune purchased the North County Times and The Californian for $11.9 million from Lee Enterprises in October 2012.
