Gay San Diego retains publisher after shuffle
by Fred Kuhr
Even after a shuffle of community newspaper ownership in San Diego, David Mannis remains publisher of Gay San Diego.
But that is the only newspaper left under the control of Mannis’ San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN).
General readership publications San Diego Uptown News, San Diego Downtown News, Mission Times Courier, La Mesa Courier and the since-shuttered Mission Valley News were bought by the San Diego Community Newspaper Group (SDCNG), led by Julie Main, who also happens to be Mannis’ ex-wife.
The deal was made official on April 1, 2019, according to reporting in Gay San Diego.
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| David Mannis |
“Although I will miss being involved in the Uptown, Downtown, Navajo and La Mesa communities, I’m pleased to retain Gay San Diego and to provide this important platform for the LGBTQ community,” Mannis said. “I hope to build an even broader audience for this publication.”
As Main already publishes three other coastal California newspapers, she becomes the largest independent publisher in the region, a first for a woman.
“It’s a rewarding industry,” Main told Gay San Diego. “The most exciting thing about the community newspaper industry is everyone has a story. It’s very exciting to peel back the layers and find these treasures and share them with our readers. These people help shape the community.”
As Gay San Diego tells it, control of the newspapers has passed between Main and Mannis over the years. The former couple founded SDCNG together in the 1980s. Even after their divorce in 2002, they worked together on a number of community newspapers until Main took full control at the end of 2008.
Mannis decided to enter the newspaper industry again in 2009 and founded San Diego Uptown News. He later bought Downtown News from SDCNG and grew his newspaper network to six papers stretching across the county. After 40 years in the newspaper industry, he decided to enter semi-retirement, retaining control of one remaining SDCNN publication, Gay San Diego.
IN THE NEWS
Volume 21
Issue 2
