On page A-2 there’s a box that says the Union-Tribune, a Copley Newspaper, was established in 1868. Yet, on Saturday, this newspaper celebrated a 10-year birthday. Ten years ago Feb. 2, the morning San Diego Union and afternoon Tribune, sister newspapers with separate, competitive staffs and their own personalities, merged and became The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Union and the Tribune, each with loyal readers, disappeared forever.
It was a bittersweet occasion. With sorrow we bid adieu to colleagues who would not be part of the new venture. Sadness, however, was tempered by an opportunity to create a new newspaper. “It’s every newspaper person’s dream to build a newspaper from scratch,” said Jack Reber, systems and facilities editor. He was among 14 people who met for weeks to determine the look and content of the new Union-Tribune.
Just as the staffs were merged into one, key features from each newspaper were retained. Although the look of the paper is more old Union than old Tribune, it’s not just typeface and design that give a newspaper a personality. Content is a crucial element.
“There are a lot of the same voices,” said Editor Karin Winner about writers, including columnists, on the Union-Tribune staff.
Changes brought diversity to the Editorial and Opinion pages with columnists and writers from both papers joining to work with the publisher on editorial positions. Opinion, which includes editorials, was expanded and now covers three pages on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Comics from each paper were retained. Also, crossword puzzles from both became part of the new Union-Tribune. And then there are those sisters, Abigail Van Buren and Ann Landers.
“Although they write in the same genre, we felt absolutely that we had to keep both,” said Winner. “They had two very loyal readerships in this community.”
Winner said that the blending in voices, columnists, crossword puzzles, comics and even advice columnists are “the things that give personality to a newspaper and that build loyalty. Although both newspapers did physically disappear, a lot of what made both special or unique were kept.
“I don’t think either paper would be right for these times,” Winner said. “We’re in a very visual, time-competitive era where people have to get in and out of their newspaper quickly. We try to capture a lot of things.”
In its 10 years, the Union-Tribune has evolved and will continue to do so as events and technology dictate. Today’s newspaper emphasizes graphics and photography more than ever. Informational graphics, once rare, are now an everyday tool to help readers understand a story.
Changes have been made even since Sept. 11. The front page now includes a summary along the left side that points readers to stories of interest inside the paper. On page A-2, also in the left column, there’s a quick update on the latest developments in the attack on terrorism.
“We have had to give up being the newspaper of record because the region has grown so and we’re so diversified,” Winner said. “There are so many different kinds of stories to write to reflect the community’s interests. What has resulted is a livelier, more in-touch newspaper than either newspaper was in the past.
“I’m not saying that in a critical way,” Winner said. “People who had sentimental attachments still miss them because you form a personal relationship with your newspaper, but I like to think after 10 years of developing our own personity we’ve taken the best of both and have come up with a darn good newspaper.”
While the Union-Tribune contains many features from its parent newspapers, it also includes elements uniquely its own. Currents, which carries Arts and television listings Monday through Saturday, launched the award-winning science section, Quest; it appears each Wednesday. Currents is also the home of the post-merger Religion and Ethics emphasis on Fridays and Family on Saturdays.
Other key post-merger additions include Night&Day, the entertainment section, published on Thursdays. Last March, the newspaper launched its Bulldog edition, an early version of the Sunday paper but offered for Saturday street sales. Another venture, SignOnSan Diego, the newspaper’s Web site, had its start on Nov. 17, 1995. Enlace, a Spanish-language tabloid, is available free at various locations, primarily in South County.
Since Sept. 11, the newspaper has focused its resources on covering the attack on terrorism. The troops in Afghanistan are a local story. Despite financial hard times, the newspaper repeatedly sent reporters and photographers overseas. At Christmas, the paper sent servicemen and women at the battlefront a Christmas edition of the hometown newspaper with greetings from readers.
“The paper and our relationship with our readers can only get better and stronger,” Editor Winner said.
