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

Soon-Shiong folds two ex-Copley newspapers

Furloughs by Los Angeles Times spur more Union-Tribune worries

Copley-owned Burbank Leader
Copley-owned Burbank Leader

When billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, and a raft of other papers two years ago, many hoped that he was finally the Daddy Warbucks with enough free cash to fix the ailing newspapers

Now evidence is mounting that Soon-Shiong, who made his money in the drug industry, is radically downsizing his newspaper dreams in the face of COVID-19, abruptly shuttering the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Canada Valley Sun, letting go of fourteen staffers.

"The Times has lost more than one-third of its advertising revenue and expects to lose more than half of its advertising revenue in the coming months."," said an April 14 staff memo first reported by the New York Times from Chris Argentieri, president of California Times, Soon-Shiong's newspaper holding company. The papers are furloughing 40 workers, the announcement said.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Copley-owned Glendale News-Press

"As part of the austerity plan, pay for senior editorial and business managers at the Times and the Union-Tribune will be reduced by as much as 15 percent for three months, and 401(k) matches will be suspended," the Times added.

"The cuts do not apply to union employees who belong to the News Guild. Mr. Argentieri said company leaders would meet with union representatives to address "cost-saving initiatives."

Three days later came the word of the satellite newspaper closings.

The Glendale paper dates back more than a hundred years to 1905, when wealthy Illinois gas magnate and publisher Ira Copley, whose flagship paper was the Union-Tribune, bought the Glendale Daily Press and the Glendale Evening News and combined them. The paper had a series of owners since Helen Copley, the widow of Ira's son Jim, unloaded it in 1974. Times-Mirror, then-owner of the L.A.Times, purchased it in 1993.

The Burbank Leader, formerly known as the Burbank Daily Review, was also an early Copley acquisition that was sold in 1974, ending up with Times-Mirror. In the Copley days, the paper served as an important Southern California Republican base and launching pad for the political career of noted GOP operative Lyn Nofziger.

After graduating from San Jose State, Nofziger, who later became a well-known advisor to president Ronald Reagan, got his start as an intern at Copley's Glendale operation. From 1950 to 1956 Nofziger worked at one or the other of the two papers, serving as editor of the Daily Review from 1956 through 1958.

Nofziger then spent eight years as Washington, D.C. correspondent for Copley Newspapers before jumping into politics full-time at the behest of Jim Copley, famous for his behind-the-scenes efforts for Richard Nixon.

"The call came on a cold day in early January of 1966," wrote Nofziger in 1992's Nofziger: A Reagan Insider and Spokesman in His Own Words.

"The caller was Captain E. Robert Andersen, USN (ret.), the chief aide to James S. Copley, who owned the chain of newspapers for which I worked. "He came right to the point. 'Jim, would you like to take a leave of absence and come out to California and be Ronald Reagan's press secretary for his campaign for governor?'" Nofziger died in March 2006,. leaving his papers to Stanford's Hoover Institution.

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

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
Copley-owned Burbank Leader
Copley-owned Burbank Leader

When billionaire physician Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, and a raft of other papers two years ago, many hoped that he was finally the Daddy Warbucks with enough free cash to fix the ailing newspapers

Now evidence is mounting that Soon-Shiong, who made his money in the drug industry, is radically downsizing his newspaper dreams in the face of COVID-19, abruptly shuttering the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Canada Valley Sun, letting go of fourteen staffers.

"The Times has lost more than one-third of its advertising revenue and expects to lose more than half of its advertising revenue in the coming months."," said an April 14 staff memo first reported by the New York Times from Chris Argentieri, president of California Times, Soon-Shiong's newspaper holding company. The papers are furloughing 40 workers, the announcement said.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Copley-owned Glendale News-Press

"As part of the austerity plan, pay for senior editorial and business managers at the Times and the Union-Tribune will be reduced by as much as 15 percent for three months, and 401(k) matches will be suspended," the Times added.

"The cuts do not apply to union employees who belong to the News Guild. Mr. Argentieri said company leaders would meet with union representatives to address "cost-saving initiatives."

Three days later came the word of the satellite newspaper closings.

The Glendale paper dates back more than a hundred years to 1905, when wealthy Illinois gas magnate and publisher Ira Copley, whose flagship paper was the Union-Tribune, bought the Glendale Daily Press and the Glendale Evening News and combined them. The paper had a series of owners since Helen Copley, the widow of Ira's son Jim, unloaded it in 1974. Times-Mirror, then-owner of the L.A.Times, purchased it in 1993.

The Burbank Leader, formerly known as the Burbank Daily Review, was also an early Copley acquisition that was sold in 1974, ending up with Times-Mirror. In the Copley days, the paper served as an important Southern California Republican base and launching pad for the political career of noted GOP operative Lyn Nofziger.

After graduating from San Jose State, Nofziger, who later became a well-known advisor to president Ronald Reagan, got his start as an intern at Copley's Glendale operation. From 1950 to 1956 Nofziger worked at one or the other of the two papers, serving as editor of the Daily Review from 1956 through 1958.

Nofziger then spent eight years as Washington, D.C. correspondent for Copley Newspapers before jumping into politics full-time at the behest of Jim Copley, famous for his behind-the-scenes efforts for Richard Nixon.

"The call came on a cold day in early January of 1966," wrote Nofziger in 1992's Nofziger: A Reagan Insider and Spokesman in His Own Words.

"The caller was Captain E. Robert Andersen, USN (ret.), the chief aide to James S. Copley, who owned the chain of newspapers for which I worked. "He came right to the point. 'Jim, would you like to take a leave of absence and come out to California and be Ronald Reagan's press secretary for his campaign for governor?'" Nofziger died in March 2006,. leaving his papers to Stanford's Hoover Institution.

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

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
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