GrokSurf's San Diego

At $.75 per issue (same as the LA Times), I expect the San Diego Union-Tribune to distinguish itself by doing a significant amount of original reporting, not just reprint wire service stories on the net.  Long before David C. Copley sold the newspaper to Edward R. Moss [Correction: it was sold to Platinum Equity (thanks Joe).  Also I should have written that Copley Press sold it] , the U-T was already going in the wire services direction, shedding reporters and cutting back on original coverage.  The paper has grown thinner and thinner.  Its approach to local news seems half-hearted. Under the new ownership, so far I haven’t see any sign of that changing. [Aug 12: More layoffs have been announced]

Meanwhile, I have seen the LA Times improve with the merger of its California section with the main ‘A’ section (with regional coverage becoming more substantive) and a noticeably reduced reliance on wire service reports.

I decided to do a brief informal comparison between the two papers to look, specifically, at how much original reporting the LA Times and SD Union-Tribune publish. Below I’ve itemized a working week’s worth of original reports in the main sections from each paper.

What I tallied: The LA Times combines its local and regional coverage with its ‘A’ section material, while San Diego U-T puts local and regional coverage in its ‘B’ section, so my tally looks only at Section A for LAT and Sections A+B for SDUT.  Business sections are not compared.  I tallied stories going through the papers front-to-back.  You’ll notice the LA Times now puts most “traditional”  news in back pages and uses the front more for personal interest stories.

Monday, Aug 3

LA Times

• The sound of one boy healing / Shari Roan
• Church tests policy on gay clerics / Duke Helfand
• Health measure will be a tough sell / Janet Hook
• Taking ‘ownership’ of Afghanistan war / Julian E. Barnes
• Remains of pilot from 1991 war recovered / Tony Perry
• Yoga mats in the outfield / W.J. Hennigan
• Unpopular but undaunted / George Skelton
• On the road to learning / Ruben Vives
• Pension plan threatens city budget
• State agency resumes review of fumigant / Amy Littlefield
• Targeting heat-related farm deaths / Anna Gorman
• Christians, Muslims forging new bonds / Larry B. Stammer
• Hybrid U.S. prison considered / Josh Meyer and Julian E. Barnes
• In Colorado, judges as prosecutors / DeeDee Correll
• Debating the role of prevention / Kristina Sherry
• 4 soldiers held in Iraqi bank heist / Liz Sly
• Israeli gays mourn in shock / Richard Boudreaux
• 6 U.S. troops killed in bombings, ambush in Afghanistan / Laura King
• Iran court warns against criticizing proceedings / Borzou Daragahi

• Newsbrief: Tip halts planned cockfight / Ari B. Bloomekatz
• Newsbrief: Marine killed in crash is identified / Ari B. Bloomekatz
• Newsbrief: Boy dies in early morning hit-run / Alan Zarembo
• Newsbrief: Deputies kill man wielding cleavers / Ari B. Bloomekatz

SD Union-Tribune

• Advisers urge foes of Prop. 8 not to rush / John Marelius
• Southbound screenings: Mexico’s customs inspection plans raise traffic concerns / Sandra Dibble
• Fanita Ranch plans stumble / Michele Clock
• Progress is reported on repairing spinal cords / Scott LaFee
• Council members get advice on recusals / Craig Gustafson
• Finding their ‘lifeline’: Foster siblings make important family ties while enjoying camp / David Hasemyer
• Scripps team manipulates skin cells to breed mice / Thomas Kubber

• Just Fix It: Paint on Point Loma curbs should make parking limits clear / Jeff Ristine
• Newsbrief: Missing man found dead in Mission Bay / Leslie Berestein
• Newsbrief: Carlsbad woman found slain in home is identified / Leslie Berestein and Mark Arner
• Newsbrief: Coronado fire causes $120,000 in damage / Mark Arner
• Newsbrief: Del Mar racetrack holds contest for Miss Cougar / Tanya Mannes
• Newsbrief: Walk Against Crime set for tomorrow in Vista / Rick Rogers
• Newsbrief: Ship repairers donate to public swimming pool / Helen Gao
• Newsbrief: Boy, 14, hit by watercraft while tubing in Mission Bay / U-T report

Tuesday, Aug 4

LA Times

• Clinton goes to North Korea / John M. Glionna, Paul Richter
• Tradition adrift in a sea of change / John M. Glionna
• Burk slaying suspect was on his 3rd strike long ago / Jack Leonard and Richard Winton
• A shot at thwarting swine flu / Thomas H. Maugh II
• Clunkers credited for big July sales / Ken Bensinger, Jim Puzzanghera
• White House gives drug makers a seat / Tom Hamburger
• House just tip of the horror / Hector Tobar
• Suit over child’s death dismissed / Victoria Kim
• L.A. schools’ dropout rate declines 17% / Howard Blume and Jason Song
• Giving Hollywood a tumble / Carla Hall
• Justices back employer in privacy case / Maura Dolan
• State prepares for climate change / Margot Roosevelt
• Quach in collision before crash / My-Thuan Tran
• La Jolla’s beach squatters spark debate / Tony Perry
• Michael Jackson’s mother is given custody of his children / Victoria Kim
• Police rescue hostage in Riverside County / Joel Rubin and Robert J. Lopez
• Families confronting money woes / Carla Rivera
• State to consider altering law on test scores, teacher evals / Jason Song
• Obama hails new GI Bill as ‘an investment in our own country’ / Mark Silva
• Senate set to debate Sotomayor / David G. Savage and James Oliphant
• Justices cool to bail request by Simpson / Ashley Powers
• GOP defector Specter faces challenge from his new party / Josh Drobnyk
• White House clarifies tax talk / Mark Silva
• U.S. may soften Sudan stance / Peter Wallsten, Edmund Sanders
• A bird’s-eye view of Afghanistan / Carolyn Cole
• Israeli denies any fraud / Richard Boudreaux
• 3 die in pneumonic plague outbreak in remote part of western China / Barbara Demick and Joshua Frank

• Newsbrief: Man gets prison for $14 million Ponzi scam / Raja Abdulrahim
• Newsbrief: Retirement plan vote delayed / David Zahniser
• Newsbrief: Dealer sentenced in girl’s death / Nicole Santa Cruz
• Newsbrief: Man decapitated; suspect arrested / Steve Chawkins
• Newsbrief: Deaths called murder-suicide / My-Thuan Tran
• Newsbrief: County weighs pension appeal / Tami Abdollah
• Newsbrief: San Diego police kill robber / Tony Perry

San Diego Union-Tribune

• Auto dealers praise rebate incentive / Catherine Mitros
• Steelhead strategy roils local waters / Mike Lee
• Zoo institute gives teachers lessons to share with students / Robert Krier
• Schools prepare for flu’s return / Chris Moran
• Suspect tried suicide before, authorities say / Rick Rogers
• Officials at border hail wastewater diversion system / Sandra Dibble
• Rancher devoted to ‘giving back’ to Lakeside / Anne Krueger
• Devoted family man hit by car is mourned / Mark Arner
• Kinfe-wielding man fatally shot by police / Craig Gustafson and Matthew Rodriguez
• 5 council members raise $351,350 through June / Craig Gustafson

• Newsbrief: Man who jumped from boat into bay identified / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Girl, 9, dies in I-5 crash; driver suspected of DUI / Debbi Baker
• Newsbrief: Marine arrested after chase on way to hospital / Karen Kucher
• Newsbrief: Man attempts robbery, threatens eatery manager / Debbi Baker
• Newsbrief: Blaze caused by someone in home, fire chief says / Debbi Baker
• Newsbrief: Baja earthquakes felt in downtown San Diego / Karen Kucher
• Newsbrief: Discovery of fruit fly prompts spraying, traps / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Public safety is focus of community fair tonight / Janine Zuniga
• Newsbrief: Trace of precipitation remarkable for San Diego / Robert Krier
• Newsbrief: Attorney recommended for seat on ethics panel / Craig Gustafson
• Newsbrief: Ruling sets stage for L.A. venue in Trump suit / Leslie Berestein

Wednesday,  Aug 5

LA Times

• Bill Clinton brings back journalists / John M. Glionna, Paul Richter
• Deal was months in the making / Paul Richter
• State gets two years to cut 43,000 from prisons / Carol J. Williams
• A sticky situation for L.A. lawyer / Alan Zarembo, Victoria Kim
• Obama sees a region through hard times / P.J. Huffstutter
• Burk case mirrors part of ’86 crime / Jack Leonard and Richard Winton
• The great California sell-off / Steve Lopez
• L.A. fire officials cut rescue vehicles, hospital liaisons / Robert J. Lopez and Phil Willon
• System is blamed in boy’s death / Garrett Therolf
• Historic Clifton’s struggles to sustain itself / Cara Mia Di Massa
• O.C. officials order revamp of agency / Tami Abdollah
• 5 die in fiery O.C. crash / Paloma Esquivel and My-Thuan Tran
• All-American day for Inglewood / Emeralda Bermudez
• Glendale brush fire controlled: Robert J. Lopez
• AEG, mayor team up for bach / David Zahniser and Phil Willon
• Judge upholds ‘bubble’ law / Robin Abcarian
• Legislation addresses water policy / Bettina Boxall
• Sotomayor critics line up in Senate / James Oliphant and David G. Savage
• What’s on the Pentagon’s mind? Facebook / Julian E. Barnes
• Obama’s full-time, VIP healthcare / Mike Dorning
• White House rebuts Drudge / Peter Nicholas
• Summit to tackle text messaging, other driver distractions / Kristina Sherry
• Abbas urges nonviolent struggle / Richard Boudreaux
• 2 hurt as rockets rain on Afghan capital / Laura King
• Baghdad’s copper market loses its luster / Usama Redha
• Struggling to make it in Kenya / Edmund Sanders
• Tehran calls 3 Americans spies / Maria L. La Ganga, Liz Sly

• LA newsbrief: Vote on uniforms delayed / Maeve Reston
• LA newsbrief: City oks loan to help Cirque / Maeve Reston
• Statewide newsbrief: Veterans win college aid / Larry Gordon
• Whittier newsbrief: 3 men arrested in attack on woman / Robert J. Lopez
• Westminster newsbrief: Council’s Quach charged with DUI / My-Thuan Tran

SD Union-Tribune

• Private lawyers cost state millions / Michael Gardner
• Oval park isn’t part of waterfront plan / Helen Gao
• California voters increasingly tolerant / John Marelius
• Jackson calls ‘beer summit’ distraction from real issues / Matthew T. Hall
• Let us not overlook the Battle of Shewan / Michael Stetz
• Pension hearing to weigh payment / Craig Gustafson
• Night sky brings town an air of distinction / Bruce Lieberman
• Program eases the pain of medical school costs / Keith Darce
• Chula Vista: 2 police promotions reinstated / Tanya Sierra
• Carlsbad: Power plant plan clears county hurdle
• National Night Out brings residents, police together / Matthew Rodriguez
• Campo: Water project will receive $1.1 million / Onell R. Soto

• Just fix it: Water leak repaired, but not before it had turned into deluge / Jeff Ristine
• Newsbrief: 2 arrested in connection with April death of sailor / Debbi Baker
• Newsbrief: Name of man with knife slain by officer released / Angelica Martinez
• Newsbrief: Suspect in hit-and-run turns himself in to police / Karen Kucher
• Newsbrief: Motorist, 88, dies after apparent heart attack / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Blaze at Torrey Pines reserve quickly put out / Angelica Martinez
• Newsbrief: Fires break out on two consecutive nights in lot / Karen Kucher
• Newsbrief: Man in bottle-bomb case to be evaluated further / Mark Arner
• Newsbrief: Bail set for El Cajon man in alleged fraud scheme / David Hasemeyer
• Newsbrief: UCSD to benefit from an unusual bond issue / James P. Sweeney
• Newsbrief: Sustainability Fair set for tomorrow, Sunday / Mike Lee
• Newsbrief: Sheriff’s Dept. to spend stimulus money on hires / Jeff McDonald

Thursday, Aug 6

LA Times

• A flight to Asia that altered the U.S. political map / Paul Richter
• Police chief’s exit poses a major challenge for L.A. / Jack Leonard and Richard Winton
• Longtime associate lured Bratton to security firm / Joel Rubin
• New ordeal for the old in Iraq / Ned Parker and Caesar Ahmed
• Budd Schulberg, 1914-2009: A man Hollywood hated and hailed / Dennis McLellan
• There’s money in oil. Take it / George Skelton
• State criticizes police firing range in Redondo Beach / Jeff Gottlieb
• Payments to officials are probed / Howard Blume, Scott Glover and David Zahniser
• Illinois inmate charged in 5 area slayings / Tami Abdollah
• Assembly expunges votes on controversial oil drilling bill / Patrick McGreevy
• Legal opinion adds to flap over governor’s vetoes / Eric Bailey
• L.A. council to vote on emergency billboard law / David Zahniser
• County-USC hospital reopens rooftop heliport / Rong-Gong Lin II
• Brown criticizes order to release inmates / Carol J. Williams
• I-5 crash victims identified / Paloma Esquivel and My-Thuan Tran
• A realm of the coin in L.A. / Bob Pool
• EPA proposes new rule to help curb smog / Margot Roosevelt
• State to further restrict fishing / Amy Littlefield
• Healthcare debate gets uglier / Janet Hook
• Low-risk suopport for Sotomayor / James Oliphant
• Stimulus is working, Obama tells crowd / P.J. Huffstutter
• Court restores ban on new roads in forests / Bettina Boxall
• Doubt cast on spine surgery / Thomas H. Maugh II
• Lawmaker who had cash in his freezer is convicted / Richard Simon
• Mob targeted Pakistani Christians / Alex Rodriguez
• A cursed job and a boxing legend’s demise / Tracy Wilkinson
• ‘Home and free’ again / Raja Abdulrahim and Anna Gorman
• Tensions fester in secular Tel Aviv / Edmund Sanders
• Iran leader is sworn in amid signs of discord / Borzou Daragahi, Ramin Mostaghim
• NATO chief reaffirms Afghan priority / Henry Chu
• Funds may be delayed for Mexico’s anti-drug effort / Kristina Sherry

• LA newsbrief: Judge delays Chris Brown sentencing / Harriet Ryan
• San Bernardino newsbrief: Shooting case nears settlement / David Kelly
• Santa Ana newsbrief: Officer kills man in alley / Ari B. Bloomekatz
• LA newsbrief: L.A. City College suspends sports / Gale Holland
• LA newsbrief: Attorney held in bribery case / Ari B. Bloomekatz
• San Diego newsbrief: Another panda born at zoo / Tony Perry

SD Union-Tribune

• Electric car fuel stations funded / Thomas Kupper
• ‘Cougars’ make tracks for Del Mar / Tanya Mannes
• Panda cub makes debut in early morning at zoo / Jeanette Steele
• Bejarano war chest continues to grow / Jeff McDonald
• Hero worship puts focus on sailor dad / Leonel Sanchez
• Caltrans to pay Minutemen in settlement over cleanup on I-5 / Leslie Berestein
• Council reverses, will replace McCann temporarily / Tanya Sierra
• Slain court reporter’s ex-boyfriend pleads not guilty / Angelica Martinez
• DNA links murderer to 5 killings in Calif. / Jose Luis Jimenez
• 2 could face death penalty in fatal stabbing / David Hasemyer
• Schools fear more cuts later if state budget woes continue / Chris Moran
• Budget cuts force court closures in county / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Total loss of state funds imperils domestic violence shelters / John Wilkens

• El Cajon newsbrief: Police looking into death of 9-month-old in tub / Karen Kucher
• SD newsbrief: Hiker dies, girl rescued from Cowles Mountain / Susan Shroder
• SD newsbrief: Three who handled soiled baggage receive treatment / Matthew Rodriguez
• SD newsbrief: Series of thefts linked to suspects in custody / Jose Luis Jimenez
• La Mesa newsbrief: Two men, one with a gun, rob La Mesa water store / Jose Luis Jimenez
• SD newsbrief: Driver in pickup crash who later died identified / Jose Luis Jimenez
• SD newsbrief: Man convicted of shooting his ex-girlfriend’s husband / Angelica Martinez
• Newsbrief: Woman is 13th person in county to die of swine flu / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Nuclear attack sub set to arrive at Point Loma / Steve Liewer
• Newsbrief: GOP governor candidate advocates job creation / J. Marelius
• Newsbrief: Lower temperatures are forecast for inland valleys / Robert Krier
• Newsbrief: S.D. County to solicit bids for new lobbying contract / J. McDonald

Friday, Aug 7

LA Times

• Sotomayor is a justice like no other / David G. Savage and James Oliphant
• Obama aims to overhaul immigration jail system / Anna Gorman
• Fear is real, but bullet is soap / Scott Glover
• John Hughes: He listened to kids, and gave them voice / Dennis McLellan
• Their war hero to end all war heroes / Henry Chu
• This guy’s got inside game / James Rainey
• Choosing the next police chief / Phil Willon
• New twist in battle for land near Malibu / Bob Pool
• Jackson flag order causes flap in Carson / Jeff Gottlieb
• Jackson was to get 2nd physical / Harriet Ryan
• 4 held in string of taco truck holdups / Ruben Vives
• Gov. signs bill easing office pool penalties / Patrick McGreevy
• School board member quits / Seema Mehta
• Warming plan urged for national parks / Margot Roosevelt
• Psychiatric hospital is sued by ex-workers / Rong-Gong Lin II
• Workers get new help in Dole fight / Victoria Kim and Alan Zarembo
• Sheriff to run MTA security / Richard Winton
• Bush’s terror policies take a beating / Greg Miller
• Glaciers melting faster, study says / Jim Tankersley
• Planet-hunting craft shows its stuff / John Johnson Jr.
• Jewish groups decry Obama award pick / Peter Wallsten
• Violations cited in gay bar raid / P.J. Huffstutter
• The victory over Georgia cut two ways / Megan K. Stack
• Deathly superstition haunts Indian village / Mark Magnier
• Roadside bombs wreak havoc in Afghanistan / Laura King
• Chinese lawyer who fought fraud is jailed / Barbara Demick
• U.S. strike may have killed Pakistani Taliban chief / Alex Rodriguez, Greg Miller
• Clinton trip marks new engagement in Somalia / Edmund Sanders
• Swine flu vaccine on track for fall arrival, WHO says / Thomas H. Maugh II

• Greenspace brief: Tackling the elephant in the room: overpopulation / Margot Roosevelt
• Greenspace brief: Greenpeace paints mocking moniker on roof of HP building / Amy Littlefield
• Greenspace brief: Utility pays U.S. a $14.75-million wildfire settlement / Bettina Boxall
• Greenspace brief: College students compete for best 100% solar home / Amy Littlefield
• Riverside County brief: Firegighters gain against blaze fanned by wind / Robert J. Lopez
• Hollywood brief: Man arrested in 2 fatal stabbings / Robert J. Lopez
• Santa Ana brief: Teen convicted in driving death
• LA brief: Greuel endorses Essel for 2nd Dist. / Maeve Reston
• LA brief: Thumbs down on 18 pot exemptions / John Heoffel

SD Union-Tribune

• Immigrant detention overhaul planned / Leslie Berestein
• Deal isn’t in the cards / John Wilkens
• Mayor’s effort to get assistant a raise questioned / Sanya Sierra
• Keeping the past alive / Onell R. Soto
• County’s pension board to outsource portfolio oversight / Jeff McDonald
• Robert Castetter: Dean helped law school get accreditation, stature / Bianca Gonzalez

• Just fix it: Malfunctioning left-turn signal throws driver for a loop / Jeff Ristine
• Newsbrief: Teen who hurled knife that hit detective arrested / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Police officer who killed armed man identified / Jose Luis Jimenez
• Newsbrief: Feds offering $250,000 reward in Rosas killing / Angelica Martinez
• Newsbrief: Check of tire at border yields 50 pounds of coke / Debbi Baker
• Newsbrief: ‘Trusted traveler’ caught at border with pot in tires / Susan Shroder
• Newsbrief: Person injured in crash after pursuit by deputies / Matthew Rodriguez
• Newsbrief: USD gets grant to train science, math teachers / Chris Moran
• Newsbrief: Expiration date extended for state library grant / Jeanette Steele
• Newsbrief: Possible 77th Assembly seat candidates emerging / Michele Clock
• Newsbrief: Cars for sale on street will bring fines starting Sept. 5 / Karen Kucher

Conclusion: LA Times not only produces a greater number of original articles, it produces them almost exclusively. In contrast, the U-T’s ‘A’ section is almost exclusively wire service reports. For LAT, that’s 133 original stories for the week and 48 stories for the U-T. Further, LAT’s breadth of coverage is greater with longer, more in-depth articles from reporters on-location worldwide. For me, this brief survey brought home the fact that the Union-Tribune has virtually given up on assigning its own reporters to cover any national or international stories, and while section B contains some unique local and regional stories, they are only occasionally in-depth; otherwise, it relies heavily on numerous short newsbriefs.  I guess I should give the U-T a little slack: their daily circulation is 296,331 (down from 418,000 in 1993) compared to LAT’s 773,884 and who’s to say if the reduced coverage is because of reduced circulation or vice-versa? There are still some good reporters at the U-T and I would like to continue supporting them with my subscription, but increasingly the paper doesn’t seem worth the price.  I’m hoping they will put renewed effort into more original high-quality stories and more sustained follow-through on important issues.