http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Union-Tribune-Sold-134046228.html

My knee-jerk reaction — GOOD! Not GREAT, but much better than the current left-leaning, wussy interim owners.

1. Jim Sills says:

   November 17, 2011 at 10:33 am

   Both names involved, Doug Manchester and John Lynch, are very encouraging to me for two reasons:

   (1) They are both San Diego-based and have LONG records of local involvement in business and community activities for this county. What happens in thistown MATTERS to them.

   (2) Lynch brilliantly laucnhed successful sports talk radio in San Diego, first at am-690 and then am-1090 over the past 25 years. Those are regarded nationally among the best stations of their kind.

   Lynch savors a tough challenge. I hope the next one he takes is helping salvage a struggling newspaper.

   If ANYONE can do that, it is these two proven business winners. Good luck to them! Nov. 16, 2011 may be remembered as a great day in UT history.
2. Bradley J. Fikes says:

   November 17, 2011 at 10:34 am

   Let’s remember to give credit to Don Bauder of the Reader, who first alerted us to the rumored sale, and to Voice of San Diego, who confirmed Manchester’s interest.
3. The Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal says:

   November 17, 2011 at 10:35 am

   Good, but possibly temporary. It’s my opinion Manchester wants the real property and cares much less about the newspaper itself. He’ll probably let the news operation carry on under Jeff Light for now.
4. Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters says:

   November 17, 2011 at 10:50 am

   Thanks, Gayle, for ruining my morning. I suspect you are right.

   Not that I thought Manchester would be my libertarian knight in bulletproof armor. I stuck this up on my Facebook page:

   “Don’t expect some free-market zealot when Manchester takes over. Like many developers, he may seek government subsidies for his projects. Over the years I’ve been his ally and his opponent, depending on the issue. But compared to the current “Can’t we all just get along?” owner, this HAS to be an improvement.”
5. The Libertarian Lass, Gayle Falkenthal says:

   November 17, 2011 at 12:46 pm

   While numerous folks are hyperventilating over Manchester’s purchase, more attention should be paid to former radio station owner John Lynch’s role in all of this. Lynch has experience running a communications operation and was a very hands-on radio station CEO back in the day when he ran XTRA Sports and 91X. I’ll have more to say in a column shortly – but Lynch is likely to have far more influence on the actual newsroom operation than Manchester.