Union-Tribune Says Goodbye to Several Well-Known Staff Members

The final tallies are in, 48 of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s longest-serving employees will be absent in ’07.

The Copley Press Inc. paper offered 67 workers with 30 or more years of service early retirement incentives in November. Most who accepted had their final day Dec. 15, although a spokeswoman for the paper said some teetered on the fence for a few the days before the date.

Of the 48 who accepted, 19 were from the newsroom. Those with the most familiar bylines include readers representative Gina Lubrano, arts writer Preston Turegano, TV critic Robert Laurence, business reporter Frank Green, obituary writer Jack Williams and columnist Don Freeman.

Those who accepted the buyout offer will receive 18 months of base pay and up to one year of paid medical, dental and vision insurance. The 67 departing longtime employees did not include any in sales or those represented by a bargaining unit.

Battling shrinking circulation numbers, Copley, based in La Jolla, is also exploring the possible sale or merger of seven daily newspapers in Illinois and Ohio. If a sale or merger were to take place, the Union-Tribune would become Copley’s sole daily newspaper. It has a circulation of 300,000-plus and is ranked the 21st largest daily in the country.

The company recently completed the sale of its only other Southern California daily newspaper, the Daily Breeze in Torrance. Terms of the deal were not available.

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