Union Tribune Lays Off 192 Workers

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published May 7, 2009 at 10:54 AM PDT

This story was published more than 14 years ago.

The San Diego Union Tribune announced today it has laid off another 192 people. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The Copley Press, which has owned the San Diego Union Tribune since 1928 recently completed the sale of the paper to Beverly Hills - based Platinum Enterprises.

The paper has been shedding employees since 2007 as plummeting ad revenues have eroded its bottom line.

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Drew Schlosberg, director of community and public relations for the paper, says the latest layoffs are part of a “restructuring strategy designed to stabilize the cost structure of the business.”

Certainly this was a very difficult decision but it was a decision that had to be made,” Schlosberg says. “We know what our obligations are to this community and to our region and in order for us to move forward we had to make these tough decisions and certainly this market will turn around and we are confident working with Platinum Equity this was the right decision to make as we go forward,” he says.

Schlosberg would not confirm how many of those laid off were from the paper’s news room, nor what kind of benefits were offered. Among those who lost their jobs are long time reporters Greg Gross and north county reporter Lola Sherman, plus former San Diego city hall reporter Jennifer Vigil.

Schlosberg says the company is committed to grow its core product - the web site - and related media products.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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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.