Author: Staff Writer

U-T San Diego Reporter and Photographer Return to Afghanistan as War Draws to Close

Award-Winning Journalists have Made Numerous Trips to War Zone to Report on Local Troops

SAN DIEGO (April 29, 2014) U-T San Diego is sending two of its most experienced journalists back to Afghanistan to cover Camp Pendleton-based Marines and other troops as the military winds down combat operations in what has become the United States’ longest-running war. Reporter Gretel C. Kovach and photographer Nelvin C. Cepeda will be based at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, southwestern Afghanistan, for about four weeks. Both are well-versed in war-zone reporting: Kovachis making her fifth trip to Afghanistan; Cepeda is making his fourth. Since 2001, U-T San Diego has sent eight reporters and photographers to the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Each of their embed trips lasted one to two months.

“U-T San Diego has provided incisive, on-the-ground reporting of the Afghanistan War since the beginning,”
said Jeff Light, U-T San Diego’s Editor and Vice President – News & Content. “We bring an important
localized perspective because troops from San Diego County have played a major role in this war. But we are
always authoritative at the national and international levels of reporting as well.”
U-T San Diego Chairman and Publisher Papa Doug Manchester said he was proud of the troops and the
journalists who travel to war zones to cover them. “This embed trip is part of U-T San Diego’s ongoing mission
to set the national standard for military and veterans coverage,” Manchester said. “We are proud of our military
men and women who make great sacrifices for our country and our journalists who tell their story.”
Kovach and Cepeda are expected to meet Marine Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo, the former commanding general of
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, who is slated to be the last commander in charge of international
forces in southwestern Afghanistan. They also hope to meet with Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top
commander of the NATO coalition in Afghanistan and former commanding general of the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force headquartered at Camp Pendleton.

Over the years, Kovach and Cepeda have provided countless news articles, blog entries, in-depth enterprise
stories and extensive photography and video projects from the war zone.
Kovach won the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s 2014 award for local reporting, it was announced last
month. It was the second time Kovach has been honored with The General Oliver P. Smith Award for “a
distinguished example of local news reporting by an individual that illuminates the U.S. Marine Corps’
relationship with local communities.”

Kovach was recognized this year for a feature on belated valor awards for Vietnam War veterans, a series about
the Pentagon’s cancellation of the Miramar Air Show, and a story about efforts to “reawaken” Camp Pendleton
Marinesto standards and discipline amid the wartime drawdown. She previously won the foundation’s overseas
reporting award in 2012 for coverage of Camp Pendleton’s 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Sangin,
Afghanistan; as well as the local reporting award that year for her eight-day series about the recovery of a
double amputee wounded by an improvised explosive device. If you have any questions regarding information in these press releases please contact the company listed in the press release. Our complete disclaimer appears here

The Afghanistan War is officially the United States’ longest-running war. The federal government has spent
about $750 billion on this conflict, which has cost more than 2,000 U.S. lives.
The U-T San Diegowill continue to provide authoritative, thought-provoking and significant content online and
in videos along with weekly and special Military + Defense sections. This will continue throughout the military
withdrawal period and be accompanied by updates and special retrospective articles.

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About U-T San Diego
The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, owner of the 146-year-old U-T San Diego, is San Diego’s leading media
company and its most comprehensive source of news and information. Each week, U-T San Diego products
reach more than 96 percent of all San Diego County households through the combined strength of its integrated
media portfolio: the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, U-T San Diego; the website, UTSanDiego.com; the
Night + Day & DiscoverSD weekly entertainment guide; Spanish-language products, Enlace and Vida Latina
San Diego; U-TTV, a Digital Platform that provides content, news and programming; and additional homedelivered
products.

What’s On My Desk?

This week we’ve chosen to feature the desk of “Papa” Doug Manchester, the Chairman of Manchester Financial Group. MFG is one of San Diego’s largest and most profitable private companies, which owns The Grand Del Mar and Amaya La Jolla, among other properties.  Manchester is also Chairman and Publisher of the U-T San Diego daily newspaper.  Here is a look at the items on this powerhouse’s desk.

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[Source: hauteliving.com ]

Manchester honored as 2013 Nice Guy of the Year

“Papa” Doug Manchester paid humble tribute to his family, his faith and the many philanthropists who came before him as he accepted the 2013 “Nice Guy of the Year” award Saturday at the Grand Del Mar Resort.

The U-T San Diego publisher was this year’s honoree at a black-tie gala hosted by the Nice Guys, an all-volunteer group made up of 140 local philanthropists and business leaders who raise money for needy San Diegans. With no paid staff or overhead, all of the money raised — $14.7 million since 1979 — goes to local charities and individual recipients. Each year, the membership (which includes men and women) chooses a “Nice Guy” based on his or her record of giving. Manchester’s philanthropic efforts date back 40 years and totals more than $40 million.

“I am humbled and give thanks and praise to God for all who are here tonight for the wonderful work you do to benefit the less fortunate,” he said in a brief speech before a sold-out crowd of 550. “You all have given so generously of your time, talent and treasury.”

Manchester succeeds local developer/investor Ernest Rady, a longtime friend who described being chosen as 2012 “Nice Guy of the Year” as “one of the most moving things that has happened to me in my life.” Rady said this year’s award couldn’t have gone to a nicer guy.

“I’ve known Doug for four decades and I’ve watched him change the skyline of San Diego as well as do many, many good deeds for others that go unnoticed and underappreciated,” Rady said.

Manchester, 71, has a long history of giving to local causes, including $5 million to his alma mater, San Diego State University, and $5 million to Wake Forest University. He has also given endowments, donations and scholarships to the University of San Diego, Cathedral Catholic High, the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, Jenna Druck Foundation, Preuss School, Monarch School, Polinsky Children’s Center, San Diego Diocesan Ministries, Boys & Girls Club of San Diego County, Scripps Memorial Hospital, YMCA of San Diego County, Alexis de Tocqueville Society of United Way, National Conference of Christians and Jews, Billy Graham Crusade, USS Midway Museum and more.

Manchester and U-T CEO John Lynch, a 1998 Nice Guy of the Year recipient, have also committed this year to raising $1 million for the American Cancer Society.

It was Manchester’s efforts to help local cancer patients that first brought him to the attention of the Nice Guys group, according to President Skip Hodgetts. Nice Guys arranged last year for a cancer patient in Alpine to fly to New York for treatment and in the process discovered that Manchester was also interested in helping local cancer causes.

“San Diego doesn’t truly understand what an iconic philanthropic gentleman Papa Doug Manchester really is,” Hodgetts said. “We see his name on buildings … but his contributions to the community go far beyond that.”

Among those in attendance Saturday were Father Joe Carroll, 1990’s Nice Guy of the Year, who said Manchester was the first local donor to step forward with money when he was building the Joan Kroc Center at St. Vincent de Paul Village in 1987.

“And I just hit him up again for more money recently to buy all new dishes and tableware for the center,” Carroll said. “Once I got my hooks in him, I wasn’t letting him off the hook. He’s been wonderful to us.”

Bill Lynch, who was Nice Guy of the Year in 2003, said the organization is proud to have Manchester join the ranks.

“He’s been around year after year, always giving to the community,” Bill Lynch said.

The evening’s program, hosted by U-T TV co-hosts Scott Kaplan and Amber Mesker, included a short tribute film on Manchester’s achievements, a performance by the Marine Corps Band from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and live entertainment produced by Bonnie Foster, in conjunction with her parents, Marin and Wayne Foster, who are longtime family friends of Manchester.

The guests dined on sea bass and braised short rib in the ballroom of the Grand Del Mar, which Manchester Financial Group developed and owns.

Gala chair Debora Giaquinta said the gala is expected to raise more than $400,000. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds will go toward Manchester’s charity of choice, the American Cancer Society, 25 percent will go toward the Nice Guys’ new cancer fund and the rest will go to its regular charity programs.

Last year, the group gave $1.24 million to local charities, including $640,000 for its Victory Fund for wounded service members and their families. Nice Guys also provides one-time donations to needy San Diegans who have fallen between society’s cracks.

“We give people a hand up, not a handout, to help them become whole taxpaying citizens again,” Hodgetts said. “Papa Doug is someone who wants to do the same thing and is a great guy to have in the Nice Guy of the Year program.”

UTSanDiego.com a Leader in Digital Publishing

The new UTSanDiego.com desktop and mobile sites have become an incredible source of success and pride for Papa Doug and the U-T since launching in January 2013 and March 2013, respectively.

To continue the U-T’s progression as a digitally optimized publishing entity, we built a website to appeal to a wider reader demographic, improve the user experience, and create opportunities for multimedia advancement. The desktop and mobile iterations allow the U-T reader to expand their traditional subscription or switch over to an entirely digital experience. The new sites feature extensive photo galleries and integrated video, more prominent headlines and images, and “Editor’s Picks” for instant, balanced consumption of U-T content. Both the desktop and mobile versions of UTSanDiego.com also connect to key social media channels and email so users are able to easily share content with friends.

Perhaps the biggest update to UTSanDiego.com comes in the form of site navigation. Desktop site users can enjoy straightforward news categories, an organized dropdown menu, and one-click access to the U-T’s newest articles; while mobile users are able to browse key news topics, galleries, and editor selections via a “single tap” experience. UTSanDiego.com delivers an integrated, convenient way for longtime and new readers alike to connect with the stories that impact San Diego in a format suited to their unique lifestyle.

For more information on the redesigned site, visit UTSanDiego.com.

Platinum to Sell U-T to Doug Manchester

Local developer’s purchase of newspaper from Platinum Equity is expected to close by Dec. 15

By Elizabeth Aguilera

The owner of The San Diego Union-Tribune announced Thursday it has signed an agreement of sale for the newspaper to MLIM, LLC, owned by local entrepreneur Doug Manchester. He is joined by longtime media executive John Lynch, who serves as President and CEO of MLIM.

The terms of the agreement are confidential. The deal is expected to close by Dec. 15.

“We are excited about working toward our goal in the next few weeks and building on the success the great team built there,” Manchester said. “Taking ownership of a 143-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning news organization comes with great responsibility. We believe San Diego is the finest city in America and pledge to be strong advocates for the city’s interests and conscientious caretakers of the Union-Tribune and its legacy.”

Manchester is well-known for his hotel and commercial property development in the county and his involvement in high profile issues in the region. Lynch is a founder of the Broadcast Company of America and has a long history of owning radio stations.

Platinum Equity, which announced the agreement, purchased the company in May 2009 from Copley Press Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

The firm went on to hire publisher Ed Moss and a new executive team, which has led the company through a transformation that has included the redesign of the Union-Tribune and SignOnSanDiego.com, integration of online and print operations, and the launch of the top daily deal in the industry.

The company has led all major metropolitan newspapers in interactive revenue growth in each of the last two years, and has been among the industry leaders in overall advertising revenue growth during the last 18 months. Innovation in its print products have extended its print reach to 98 percent of households in the county. In October, the newspaper’s paid circulation was up 3 percent daily and 4 percent on Sunday over the previous year.

“We assembled a talented management team, unified and expanded the U-T’s print and online offerings, modernized its production technology and cemented its position as the leading local media company in the region,” said Platinum Equity’s Louis Samson, whose team led the Union-Tribune acquisition. “Most importantly, we engaged the community and the Union-Tribune is a stronger, more vital enterprise today thanks to its connection with the people of San Diego.”

Moss said the agreement is a direct result of the “significant accomplishments we have had over the last two and a half years.”

“Platinum Equity has been a tremendous steward of this company,” Moss said. “They have given us tremendous operational support, invested in the company in technology and equipment and encouraged us in our efforts to be true entrepreneurs in the way we approach business. That support along with the top-notch talent throughout our company has led us to industry leading performance.”

Platinum and Moss made these changes during tough economic times.

“We are very proud of what we have accomplished in San Diego and are grateful to the community for embracing our stewardship of the Union-Tribune,” said Samson, whose team led the Union-Tribune acquisition. “We came here at a difficult time for the newspaper industry and helped the Union-Tribune successfully transform its operations and re-invent itself by attracting terrific people and investing in their ideas and their passion.”

Gabriel Kahn, co-director of the Media, Economics and Entrepreneurship program at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California said what Platinum was able to do is rare during a time when private equity buyers of newspapers have been plagued by poor timing and a bleak media economy.

“Considering what they’ve been able to do with the revenue side of the Union-Tribune it sounds like a bright spot in an otherwise bleak landscape,” Kahn said. “Traditionally people prefer local owners for media companies like these because they see a value in the asset besides the kind of cash it might be throwing off. People who are invested in the community see the benefit of having a vibrant newspaper.”

In July, Platinum hired investment banking firm Evercore Partners to help explore alternatives for the future. MLIM was advised by Roth Capital Partners.

Manchester and Lynch hope to expand on the company’s recent success.

“We look forward to building on the foundation that has been established by current management and ownership, serving the community and working towards a fully integrated digital and print news media platform,” Manchester said in a statement.

“(The) U-T is a prized asset thanks to the people who manage and run the paper. I am privileged to be associated” with it, he said.

Publisher Moss expects continued growth under the new ownership.

“I couldn’t be more excited to work with Doug Manchester and John Lynch to build on our success and grow the company further. Both Doug and John are very successful local entrepreneurs, significant philanthropists and connected to the community. There is nothing but growth for us,” said Moss.

The tenor of this sale, just two years after the last, is upbeat, said Alan Mutter, media analyst in San Francisco. At that time the industry was in free fall and the Great Recession was at its height.

Mutter said the sale to local owners benefits both Platinum and the community. A large media company might have opted to gut the newspaper, combine operations with other entities in the region and manage the newspaper from a remote city, he said.

“There has to be a business rationale for the decisions but they also probably did it for some of the psychic rewards that come with owning a newspaper. They care about the community, they want to have influence in the community and be deeply connected,” he said.

Manchester is a prominent figure in the San Diego community. He is founder and chairman of Manchester Financial Group. The company’s developments include the Grand Del Mar; Manchester Grand Hyatt, which he sold his interest in earlier this year; San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina, which he also sold; and the Torrey Pines Business and Research Park.

Most recently Manchester is behind the proposed Navy Broadway Complex – his biggest project yet – which calls for a $1.3 billion, 3.2 million-square-foot office and hotel complex downtown that would include a new Navy headquarters and 1.9-acre park. Opening of the first phase is projected for 2016, pending financing and approvals.

He has donated more than $27 million to scholarship endowments, educational institutions and local hospitals. Among the recipients of his philanthropy are the University of San Diego, The Bishop’s School, San Diego State University and Wake Forest University.

Manchester is credited for the transformation of the waterfront around the convention center complex. In 1994 he supported a ballot initiative to move the airport from Lindbergh Field to Miramar, which voters approved. Voters rejected an advisory referendum on the same issue in 2006. Manchester was a principal backer of the successful statewide Proposition 8 campaign in 2008.

Lynch, who has partnered with Manchester on other projects, said “we love this place and it’s one of the reasons we put together this transaction to support the community and buy one of the real jewels in the community.”

Lynch started his career at the Chicago Tribune before moving into radio in the Midwest. In 1972 he moved to San Diego and within a decade was part owner of Noble Broadcast Group, which owned several radio stations. Lynch is credited for expanding the company, which sold for $152 million in 1996. In 2003, Lynch founded the Broadcast Company of America and started XX Sports Radio (1090-AM), which he left last year.

Before his media career began Lynch did a short-stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers as linebacker before he was injured. His son, and namesake, followed him into professional football before taking a job with NFL on Fox as a commentator.

“One of the goals of the company is to be a cheerleader of San Diego business and San Diego institutions. We recognize what the challenges in San Diego are and we’ll move to be a supporter of things that will get our city going in the right direction,” Lynch said. “We believe there is a tremendous opportunity to have an integrated, digital business as well as a newspaper,” Lynch said. “By integrating them together you have the opportunity to be the most important media company in the region to come.”

Staff writer Lori Weisberg contributed to this report.

U-T Sale Announcement Article

U-T Sale (cont).