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

San Diego Union and San Diego Reader writer Don Bauder passes away

Retired in 2018

Don Bauder talking to Reader writer Matt Potter in 2013.
Don Bauder talking to Reader writer Matt Potter in 2013.

In 1960, I entered the journalism profession with a Master’s degree and an addiction to work in a field I already knew that I loved: writing and reporting. I had worked 40 hours a week as editor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus newspaper and almost that much under a fellowship as a graduate student. Initially, I erred by going into advertising and public relations, but four years later had the fortunate opportunity to join Businessweek magazine in Chicago as a reporter.

In two years, I was promoted to bureau chief in Cleveland — good duty, because it involved covering the tire, steel, and glass industries, consumer companies such as Procter & Gamble, and all manner of metal fabrication firms. After writing a big scam story, I was told I could cover organized crime in business. I did — splendidly — but the magazine wouldn’t even print smoking gun items that were a matter of public record. (Later, Forbes printed the whole story with my help — one of my greatest thrills, although my name wasn’t on it.)

So I took a job as financial editor and columnist with the San Diego Union (later Union-Tribune), and was able to chase financial bandits. But not the biggest ones. I got in trouble when I saw the planned Padres and Chargers subsidies as scams on the taxpayers. I thought billionaires should build their own stadiums, but the newspaper, which got abundant advertising from its sports pages, didn’t see it that way.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I wasn’t fired, but was a skunk at the garden party with management. Earlier, in 1981 and 1990, I had had quadruple bypass surgeries, but, thank goodness, my heart held out until I joined the Reader in 2003, and for the 15 following years in which I was encouraged to do the kind of scam reporting I loved. Working for the Reader was the highlight of my career.

However, as was inevitably going to happen, my heart is telling me to jettison my love/addiction. It appears the grafts from my earlier surgeries may be clogging. I have had some tests, will take more, and have more consultations with cardiologists. Chest pains abound. I hope an 82-year old body can take a third surgery, if that is required. Maybe I can make it without serious surgery. In any case, I must retire, and thank all the editors and blog contributors who made my Reader years such a joy. Best, Don Bauder

– from "Farewell to a professional love," September 17, 2018

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Next Article

Remote work = cleaner air for San Diego

Locals working from home went from 8.1 percent to 17.8 percent
Don Bauder talking to Reader writer Matt Potter in 2013.
Don Bauder talking to Reader writer Matt Potter in 2013.

In 1960, I entered the journalism profession with a Master’s degree and an addiction to work in a field I already knew that I loved: writing and reporting. I had worked 40 hours a week as editor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus newspaper and almost that much under a fellowship as a graduate student. Initially, I erred by going into advertising and public relations, but four years later had the fortunate opportunity to join Businessweek magazine in Chicago as a reporter.

In two years, I was promoted to bureau chief in Cleveland — good duty, because it involved covering the tire, steel, and glass industries, consumer companies such as Procter & Gamble, and all manner of metal fabrication firms. After writing a big scam story, I was told I could cover organized crime in business. I did — splendidly — but the magazine wouldn’t even print smoking gun items that were a matter of public record. (Later, Forbes printed the whole story with my help — one of my greatest thrills, although my name wasn’t on it.)

So I took a job as financial editor and columnist with the San Diego Union (later Union-Tribune), and was able to chase financial bandits. But not the biggest ones. I got in trouble when I saw the planned Padres and Chargers subsidies as scams on the taxpayers. I thought billionaires should build their own stadiums, but the newspaper, which got abundant advertising from its sports pages, didn’t see it that way.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I wasn’t fired, but was a skunk at the garden party with management. Earlier, in 1981 and 1990, I had had quadruple bypass surgeries, but, thank goodness, my heart held out until I joined the Reader in 2003, and for the 15 following years in which I was encouraged to do the kind of scam reporting I loved. Working for the Reader was the highlight of my career.

However, as was inevitably going to happen, my heart is telling me to jettison my love/addiction. It appears the grafts from my earlier surgeries may be clogging. I have had some tests, will take more, and have more consultations with cardiologists. Chest pains abound. I hope an 82-year old body can take a third surgery, if that is required. Maybe I can make it without serious surgery. In any case, I must retire, and thank all the editors and blog contributors who made my Reader years such a joy. Best, Don Bauder

– from "Farewell to a professional love," September 17, 2018

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Elevated ice crystals lead to solar halos, Cottonwoods still showing their tawny foliage

New moon brings high tides this weekend
Next Article

Successor to Lillian Hellman and Carson McCullers

Crossword puzzles need headline
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