The quality of ethical journalism at the U-T San Diego has hit a new low. This shouldn’t surprise anybody. San Diego’s largest newspaper has taken a nosedive since its purchase in November 2011 by Doug Manchester, who openly utilizes the paper to champion his interests. However, an April 5 report by KPBS and inewsource reveals the newspaper seemingly forsook the word “ethical” during the November general election.
The report revealed the U-T gave large discounts for ads to conservative campaigns, such as former Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray and anti-Bob Filner group, San Diegans for Reform. In fact, the audit by KPBS and inewsource shows these campaigns paid as much as five times less than the quotes offered to the campaigns of Filner and Democratic Rep. Scott Peters. The Filner and Peters campaigns were each quoted $8,000 for a single full-page ad in the U-T. Neither Filner nor Peters ran an ad in the U-T because of the cost. However, the Bilbray campaign spent a total of $25,000 for 27 full-page ads, or $926 per ad. San Diegans for Reform spent $25,000 for 16 full-page ads, roughly $1,560 per ad. While there’s no quotes provided by the anti-Proposition 32 campaign, the pro-Proposition 32 group led by the Small Business Action Committee ran at least 20 full-page ads for $26,000, at approximately $1,300 per ad.
U-T CEO John Lynch claimed the discounts were part of a bundle option offered to all campaigns. Yet Lynch’s claim for the bundle option is flimsy at best. The offer given to the Peters campaign was $24,000 for a a paltry three full-page ads, nowhere near the sweet deal given to his opponent, Bilbray. Filner’s campaign, on the other hand, doesn’t recall ever being offered the bundle option.
These types of tactics should be left out of ethical journalism. One of the primary concerns in news is maintaining neutrality. The opinion section or editorial boards are the only sections in a newspaper where it is acceptable to publish bias. However, by the code of ethical journalism, newspapers are obligated to remain as neutral as possible in how they publish news and advertisements.
As San Diego’s leading newspaper, the U-T is also held to this standard. While it was a conservative-leaning paper long before Manchester came along, it was never used as a propaganda tool for its owners, conservative interest groups or the Republican Party. This is the same newspaper that once masterfully reported on former Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham’s bribery scandal. Now Manchester has tossed out the ethics to play his own game of political monopoly.
Unfortunately, such newspaper practices are legal in California for local races. However, they have to be reported as in-kind contributions to the candidates or the cause. Yet there is no record of either Manchester or the U-T making any in-kind contribution. Manchester did give $50,000 to the conservative Lincoln Club, a sponsor for the anti-Filner campaign, but nothing to the campaign directly or to Bilbray. The lack of in-kind contribution records has prompted the watchdog group California Fair Political Practices Commission to begin reviewing potential campaign law violations at the U-T to decide whether or not to begin an investigation. Federal laws, however, forbid newspapers from giving such discounts for federal elections, which would include the Bilbray-Peters congressional race.
It’s unfortunate how in a near-monopoly, such as the newspaper business, San Diego is stuck with the poor excuse for journalism known as the U-T San Diego. It’s a shame to see a once-proud and ethical newspaper toss everything aside for the ambitions of its owner. With the current direction Manchester is taking the U-T, it’s hard to see light at the end of the tunnel for unbiased journalism in San Diego.
