Newspapers are loath to make reference to their competitors, lest their readers flee their own pages, but for the record this development might be of interest to readers who occasionally pick up a print edition.

Last fall the LA Times changed its layout by moving its California news section into the main “A” news section which became considerably thicker as a result; today the California news moved back out into a new LATEXTRA section. According to the blurb on their front page, the new section will contain not only California stories but also “the latest possible reporting from throughout the nation and world” and “showcases our 24-hour newsroom.” I can’t see a big difference overall though; I think they may have decided the main news section with the embedded California section was just getting too thick and wanted to break them back into more easily-handled sections.

Meanwhile, the SD Union-Tribune devoted a full-page ad to its thinning paper the other day to proclaim how much effort they are putting into publishing better-quality news. Since an earlier piece I wrote about the U-T last fall, I’ve seen little change although there has been a slight trend towards putting more local reporting on the front page and an insertion of a new “Bright and Early” column on the front page to highlight inside stories, weather, and a random tidbit or quote. [Update Feb 4: today the U-T announced a revamp of their ” Night&Day” entertainment guide. I don’t see any change in the printed version but online looks jazzed up with slideshow headlines and full-color animated advertising]

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.

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