Media
Once San Diego was established as a full-fledged city, it wasn’t long before journalists began surfacing, eager to report the daily news. Even though the city has only one major newspaper that covers the entire county, there’s plenty of competition from community newspapers. More than 70 community and neighborhood newspapers are published, and though some may come and go, many have become old-timers in their respective neighborhoods.
Radio runs the gamut from adult contemporary to news/talk, and, of course, all three established television networks are represented. The city has a thriving film industry, and the San Diego Film Commission coordinates the various production companies wanting to take advantage of San Diego as a filming site. Among the feature-length movies shot in San Diego are Charlie’s Angels, Bruce Almighty, Top Gun, The Lost World, Mr. Wrong, Traffic, and Almost Famous. Episodes of various television series have been filmed here, too, including Silk Stalkings, Renegade, Cops, and Crime & Punishment.
The following listings should give you a good idea of what’s available to read, watch, and listen to locally.
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Address: 350 Camino de la Reina
2. San Diego Daily Transcript
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 232-4381, (800) 697-6397
Address: 2131 Third Avenue
Description: A broadsheet newspaper, the Transcript is published Monday through Friday and covers business, financial, legal, construction, real estate, and government news and includes legal notices as well. The Transcript is the only publication to provide listings of every publicly traded corporation based in San Diego. Its circulation is 15,000. The Transcript became the first online newspaper in San Diego in 1994.
3. Citybeat
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 281-7526
Description: CityBeat is a free newspaper published every Wednesday. In addition to news editorials, many with an irreverent slant, CityBeat focuses on the local San Diego entertainment scene. There are music and movie reviews as well as movie showtimes, classifieds, museum listings, and calendars covering sports events, recreation events, theater openings, community meetings, alternative films, and the latest happenings at local clubs. CityBeat is distributed at more than 1,000 locations in San Diego, including Downtown, Mission Valley, Hillcrest, College Area, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Miramar, Del Mar, Leucadia, Encinitas, San Marcos, and Escondido.
4. La Jolla Light
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (858) 459-4201
Description: The La Jolla Light and its sister publications the Del Mar Times, Carmel Valley Leader, Solana Beach Sun, and Rancho Santa Fe Recorder cover these affluent areas of the coast and slightly inland empires. The first two have an online Web version of the paper. All have articles about local charitable and community events, business, the art scene, and other local news. These weekly publications cover a combined audience of some 66,000.
5. San Diego Business Journal
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (858) 277-6359
Description: The Business Journal provides weekly news and commentary on San Diego County businesses and industries to 18,500 readers. Each issue has news, features, and columns about San Diego’s business environment. Its national award-winning weekly lists of businesses, agencies, and services and its annual Book of Lists keep readers in touch with San Diego’s growing industries. It is part of a national chain of business journals in major cities. The Business Journal can be purchased at newsstands throughout the city of San Diego and is also available by subscription.
6. San Diego Community Newspaper Group
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (858) 270-3103
Address: 4645 Cass Street
Description: This community news group publishes five weekly newspapers that cover issues of interest to residents of coastal San Diego from Ocean Beach north to La Jolla. The Beach and Bay Press, the Peninsula Beacon, the La Jolla Village News, the Downtown News, and the Golden Triangle News together reach some 75,000 readers. Each paper has occasional features on local personalities and brings readers up to date on political issues affecting their neighborhood. Opinion polls are a common feature, too, giving readers the chance to have their voices heard.
7. The San Diego Reader
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 235-3000
Address: 1703 India Street
Description: This free weekly tabloid is noted for its comprehensive entertainment section. The section gives detailed information and reviews on the arts, dining, sports, and things to do around San Diego. Each issue also contains feature articles and columns about San Diego life and politics. The Reader is distributed every Thursday to locations throughout San Diego County and reaches 169,500 readers. The Web site contains the weekly columns and reviews as well as the featured cover article, but not all of the additional articles or the ads.
8. Voice Of San Diego
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 325-0525
Description: Launched by Neil Morgan—writer and editor for the local San Diego newspaper (first the San Diego Evening Tribune and later the merged San Diego Union-Tribune) for more than half a century—Voice of San Diego is an excellent, independent online newspaper. There is a range of articles about San Diego culture, people, events, and topical local issues. The “This Just In” column gives the latest info about articles that have run previously in the Voice, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the New York Times, or elsewhere. The expansive calendar of events is updated daily.
9. San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (858) 571-1818
Address: 4577 Viewridge Avenue
Description: Local architecture, interior design, and gardening are the features of this monthly magazine. It also includes articles on remodeling, art, local personalities, and San Diego issues. The monthly guide to arts, culture, and entertainment is an excellent source for information about what’s happening in San Diego. The magazine’s circulation is about 53,000.
10. San Diego Magazine
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 230-9292
Address: 1450 Front Street
Description: The first city magazine in the country, San Diego Magazine celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2003. This glossy monthly contains a selection of articles about San Diego, past and present, and its notable political, social, and business leaders. The magazine also has an extensive thumbnail-review section on arts, entertainment, and restaurants. It has a circulation of more than 54,000 and can be purchased at newsstands, supermarkets, and bookstores or by subscription.
11. San Diego Metropolitan Magazine
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 233-4060
Description: San Diego Metropolitan is a monthly newsprint magazine that focuses on the downtown community. Its emphasis is on downtown businesses, arts, retail, and human-interest items. Downtown redevelopment, urban real estate, and political happenings are subjects that are frequently covered. It is distributed through chambers of commerce throughout the county, including the Hispanic Chamber and the Asian Business Association. It’s sent free to homeowners throughout the county whose residences are valued at $1.5 million or more. Anyone can subscribe for $25 per month, but mainly it’s a freebie distributed through the local chambers and other organizations to about 45,000 readers each month.
12. Computoredge Magazine
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (858) 573-0315
Address: 3655 Ruffin Road
Description: San Diego’s free computer magazine is published weekly, and 85,000 copies are distributed to newsstands, computer stores, and libraries. It contains feature articles and columns with information on software and hardware for the computer buff. For true aficionados, ComputorEdge has a calendar of events to keep computer-heads entertained and up to date, as well as a listing of local Web sites and user-group lists. The magazine also has a classifieds section advertising computers and accessories for sale.
13. Gay & Lesbian Times
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 299-6397
Description: With a print run of 15,200, the Gay & Lesbian Times is San Diego’s largest publication specifically for the gay community. Heavy on guest commentaries, the newspaper also has news and articles of interest to gays and lesbians. Its extensive arts and entertainment section covers nightlife that often is neglected in mainstream publications. It’s most easily found in libraries, bookstores, and coffeehouses in the Hillcrest and Downtown areas. Gay parents, check out Gay Parent magazine, an LGBT-friendly publication, at www.gayparentmag.com.
14. La Prensa San Diego
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 231-2873
Address: 1950 Fifth Avenue
Description: Bilingual La Prensa is published weekly and distributed throughout San Diego County, from San Ysidro in the South Bay to Oceanside in North County and east to El Cajon. It’s available free of charge at libraries, government buildings, coffeehouses, and convenience stores throughout San Diego County but can also be delivered for a fee. In publication since 1976, La Prensa views the news and events from a Latino perspective. Their Web site has many links to San Diego businesses and events. The newspaper reaches 30,000 readers.
15. San Diego Family Magazine
City: San Diego, CA
Category: Media
Telephone: (619) 685-6970
Address: 1475 Sixth Avenue
Description: Published monthly, this free magazine is full of articles, columns, advice, and helpful hints to benefit families. Pick up a copy at libraries, grocery stores, and shops all over the county. In-depth articles discuss parenting, camps, teen issues, and safety, among other issues. It includes a comprehensive directory of private schools and a listing of classes for youngsters; the Web site has recipes, readers’ movie reviews, a monthly calendar of local events, and various resource guides. The magazine is distributed to 120,000 readers.