North County Times Employees Laid Off After U-T Purchase

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published October 2, 2012 at 11:11 AM PDT

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

One third of the newsroom employees at The North County Times will lose their jobs as a result of the purchase of the paper by U-T San Diego owner Doug Manchester.

The purchase of The North County Times by U-T San Diego owner Doug Manchester became effective this week. The new owners have given 24 newsroom employees at the North County Times 60 days notice.

The layoffs include six city and community news reporters, an education reporter, three sports writers, a photographer, copy editors and the Editor.

At its height in the 1990s, The North County Times employed about 150 in its newsroom. That number declined over recent years to about 75 before this week’s merger.

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Altogether, about 80 people will lose their jobs as U-T San Diego looks for efficiencies. Those who learned they will be let go include the circulation department, several advertising account representatives and senior managers.

The U-T said in a news release it has increased its “headcount by in excess of 100 employees” since the original acquisition of the U-T last year. Many of the extra personnel are in connection with the addition of U-T TV.

U-T CEO John Lynch said research conducted before the sale was finalized shows North County readers value the prep high school sports coverage and city coverage in The North County Times.

The North County paper covers nine cities, from Oceanside - population of 185,00 - to tiny Del Mar - population under 5,000.

Employees said the new owners have not decided yet if the North County coverage will be seven days a week.

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.