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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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Elsewhere About Town:

It would appear that the recent holiday season brought several San Diego marketing agencies exactly what they were hoping for , new business.

In the entertainment sector, Kearny Mesa-based Sexton Communications announced that it is the new media buying agency for East County’s Viejas Casino.

“We have been tasked to leverage value-added publicity and promotions to augment media buys,” said President Bob Sexton, who founded the company in 2002 and has a dozen or so employees.

Revenues were not available.

Meanwhile, Carmel Valley-based c3 Communications Inc. is touting not one but two new clients in the entertainment sector. The public relations firm, which does not disclose annual revenues, has been hired to help promote a Feb. 17 Harlem Globetrotters game in Las Vegas.

The firm, which was founded in 2000 and has three employees, has also been hired to promote the Head-to-Toe Women’s Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds this fall. Head-to-Toe was founded in 2001 by Pacific Beach-based Wiz Marketing Inc. This will be the first time the event will be held outside the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Entertainers aren’t the only ones seeking fresh marketing help lately.

In the real estate and business development sectors, a Rancho Bernardo-based marketing agency, the MarketBuilding Team, announced recently that it has been hired to develop a new image branding campaign for Promus Management. The Clairemont-based management company offers services related to commercial income properties.

The MarketBuilding Team was founded in 1996, has two employees and does not disclose revenues.

Meanwhile, Mission Valley-based Gable PR announced recently that it has been hired to manage public and media relations programs for Connect. A nonprofit organization based in San Diego, Connect serves as a resource for technology and life sciences inventors and entrepreneurs in the startup phase of a company.

“We will focus our efforts on making inventors and entrepreneurs more aware of the resources Connect can provide,” said Chief Executive Officer Tom Gable, who has been in the public relations field since 1976.

Gable employs five people and was founded in November after Gable’s partnership in Gable Cook Schmid Public Relations ended. That firm, founded in 2001, reported annual revenues in excess of $2 million.

On the retail front, rounding out the list of local firms and agencies touting new clientele is Runaway Brandit Inc.

The downtown San Diego-based business, founded in 1998, is now the official marketing firm of Tommasini, an Italian-based company that makes custom cycling frames.

Runaway, which lists nine employees on its Web site, is working on gaining media coverage, as well as online promotions and other marketing materials for the Italian company.

“Tommasini is a high-end boutique frame manufacturer that needs to revitalize their brand in the U.S.,” said Tina Indalecio, Runaway’s chief executive officer. “They have not had a lot of brand promotion over the past few years, so our goal is to remind people about the brand, and reach the target market more effectively this year.”

On the home front, Runaway also recently announced that it is representing the Art & Design District, a co-op of more than 20 retail shops, service establishments and art galleries in downtown San Diego’s Little Italy.

Runaway plans to offer strategy planning, produce small-business seminars for district members and start a public relations program for the group. Annual revenues for Runaway were not available.

Financial terms for the new contracts were not disclosed.


Send media and marketing news to Jessica Long at

jlong@sdbj.com

. She may also be reached at (858) 277-6359, ext. 3114.

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