Michael D. McKinnon, the owner of KUSI-51, doesn’t want to see The San Diego Union-Tribune sold to a “distant corporation with few ties to San Diego,” so he’s considering making a bid for the paper.
“We are definitely interested in making sure the U-T stays locally owned,” McKinnon told the Union-Tribune.
On July 24, La Jolla-based Copley Press announced it hired an investment banking firm to explore the possible sale of the paper.
McKinnon, who’s talking to potential partners, was publisher of the former La Jolla Journal in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He took over KUSI in 1990 and also owns two stations in Texas.
He recognizes that newspapers face challenges, but sees advantages in bringing a newspaper andTV station under one owner. “It’s going to take a lot of energy,” he says. “Newspapers are having a tough time, but they’re not dead.”