San Diego real estate developer and philanthropist Malin Burnham confirmed he is building a nonprofit organization in a bid to take over the city’s biggest newspaper, the U-T San Diego.
Current owner Douglas Manchester has expressed interest in a new model of ownership, as long as Burnham’s nonprofit is approved by the Internal Revenue Service, according to Burnham.
He told NBC 7 if all goes as planned, the paper itself would remain a for-profit operation, while the ownership would be nonprofit and non-partisan.
However, converting a newspaper’s leadership from for-profit to nonprofit is a difficult and lengthy process because of IRS regulations, Burnham said.
The transfer would not include the Mission Valley site where the U-T currently sits. According to Burnham, hotel developer Manchester would remain the owner of that property and the newspaper would be a tenant.
It’s unclear if the paper will still be printed at the Mission Valley location, as the San Diego Reader first reported.
Burnham said if the deal goes through, he hopes the U-T would become a new model for community newspapers throughout the country.
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In 2011, Manchester said he paid more than $110 million to private equity firm Platinum equity to buy the U-T San Diego — better known as the San Diego Union-Tribune. Just two years before that, Platinum took over ownership from longtime managers The Copley Press Inc.
Burnham, nicknamed Mr. San Diego, has been honored for his philanthropy across the city. Last year, he was presented with the Midway American Patriot Award, partly for his work in helping bring USS Midway to the city.
He served as chairman for John Burnham & Company Insurance and Burnham Real Estate until the latter was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield.
