By Paul Krueger / June 13, 2025
Laura Castañeda, a long-time journalist with a distinguished career in print and broadcast reporting, has been terminated from the Union-Tribune Editorial Board after five years as Deputy Editor/Editorial & Opinion.
Castañeda announced her departure on her Facebook page:
“On the same day a team editorial at @sdutOpinion on the ICE protests was pulled, my position as deputy editor was suddenly eliminated. Thanks to the SD community for allowing me to lift your voices. My next chapter TBA. I won’t be silenced and neither should you.”
The U-T’s staff bio of Castañeda, which was still posted this morning, says this:
“Laura Castañeda has more than 30 years of storytelling experience in English and Spanish. Her vast knowledge of the community has allowed her to find unique voices for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Opinion section. Castañeda has decades of experience covering border issues and law enforcement along the U.S. Mexico border in Tucson and San Diego as well as covering urban issues in her native Chicago, where she started her journalism career at the ABC affiliate.
“She has produced independent projects for PBS affiliates in the U.S. and has extensive experience as a college professor at local colleges and universities. Castañeda, who continues to teach part-time, believes in mentoring young journalists and teaching them how to become better storytellers and live performers. Also in the works are a screenplay for her first feature-length film and two books (one is fiction, one is not).”
Castañeda has taught journalism at San Diego State University, where she was a lecturer and internship coordinator in the Journalism and Media Studies Department; San Diego City College, where she was chair and professor emeritus at the Radio, Television, Film Department; and Palomar College, where she was adjunct professor.
She has been a highly-respected leader in the regional journalism profession. She served as chapter president of the Latino Journalists of California CCNMA, a board member of the San Diego Press Club, and an advisory council member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
A personal note: I’m just one of more than 50 friends, colleagues and admirers who posted on Laura’s Facebook page this morning, where she shared news about her position as deputy editor being “suddenly eliminated”.
Laura’s post also noted that her job was “eliminated” shortly after her bosses — presumably the execs at the Southern California News Group (SCNG) — killed an editorial Laura and her colleagues had written about the Los Angeles and nation-wide ICE protests.
It would not be the first time the SCNG vulture capitalists interfered with their newsrooms. My colleague Ken Stone recently reported that the UT had declined to run a Sunday Doonesbury strip harshly critical of President Trump. https://timesofsandiego.com/life/2015/09/28/why-wasnt-doonesbury-in-sundays-u-t-comics-blame-florida/
We’ve reached out to Laura for more info about the editorial she and her colleagues wrote and her critical coverage of the Trump administration and its immigration policies, and the connection, if any, that those factors have with the “elimination” of her job.
Meanwhile, the accolades continue to accumulate on Laura’s Facebook page.
Here’s my post: “Not good … Certainly not good for you, and definitely not good for our community. Your work gave us a wide and well-edited voice to different viewpoints. You did a very good job, and you will be missed in that role. I’ll know you’ll find a new job worthy of your talents, and I hope to read the details about why that team editorial was spiked!”
“This is heartbreaking on so many levels, Laura,” wrote Terry Williams, former chapter director of the Society of Professional Journalists. “Your voice will not be silenced nor should it. Love to you along with my respect and everlasting admiration.”
Justin Dawson wrote, “I can’t believe that the media is bending the knee this way. It is horrible. I know you will come through stronger and louder.”
“Cancelling my subscription,” added Manny Lopez. “When one door closes, another one always opens up. Here’s your chance at something better. Many of us owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Wherever you go, you have my support.”
UPDATE :
I just talked with Laura, who told me she has learned that her critical editorial about the President’s decision to send the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles was pulled because “it was too one-sided” for SCNG executives.
As for the “elimination” of her job, Laura said it happened just six hours after her corporate bosses spiked the editorial, and “caught me 100-percent off-guard.”
Laura said she can’t draw a direct line between the controversial editorial and the loss of her job, and said she was told “it was not performance based… but one-plus-one does not equal three.”
Funny, I just cancelled my UT subscription because it was nothing more than the NYT-west. Damn near every national or international story had an “east of the Hudson River” tilt to it.
Now a days nobody on either side of a story is happy with the UT.
At least The Rag is predictable and maintains its editorial stance, whether I like it or not.
randy
Very bummed about Laura being let go! She gave the decimated U-T editorial board some needed balance.
(BTW, the Doonesbury deletion that Ken Stone “recently” reported was from 2015. However, SCNG *did* nix the Sunday, May 25 strip about Trump’s illegal El Salvador deportations. https://www.washingtonpost.com/doonesbury/strip/archive/2025/05/25)
Congrats to Paul Krueger for breaking this timely story.
I am so concerned about the extent to which the news media is capitulating to Donald Trump largely because of corporate owners. Good people often pay the price but the real danger is that too many are capitulating to Trump instead of fighting him, as we should.
Dang! I cancelled my UT subscription years ago out of disgust and a realization I could not get the news from it. I wish I hadn’t so I could do it now… My best to Laura… Don’t let the bastards get you down.
I have been a subscriber of the UT sconce since 1970, even during the PaPa Doug years, since I wanted to support local I have been a UT subscriber since 1970, supporting it even through the PaPa Doug years, because I wanted to support local newspapers. I was upset when they dropped the Wiley comic, then, the Doonesbury censorship. Also, the cost goes up while the content goes down. The remaining staff is heroic. But I am finally cancelling my subscription because of this poor decision. Other good local news sources for me are KPBS, the OB Rag, Voice of San Diego, and neighborhood weeklies/monthlies. Thank you for this article.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
—Martin Niemöller