As vulture capital firm Alden takes control, Union-Tribune ed/pub Light departs

Jeff Light, editor and publisher at The San Diego Union-Tribune, has left after 13 years. The news comes after the paper was sold to Alden Global Capital, a vulture capital firm led by Heath Freeman and known for gutting newsrooms to enrich its principals. The search to find his replacement is underway.

Light said:

“My idea of the company was that we could all work together, shoulder to shoulder, directed only by our shared love of our work, our belief in one another and our ability to learn together. The Union-Tribune is a special place. Those of us who are leaving will walk away with a sense of achievement that I hope is not missed in all the tweets and coverage of our story.

“People who have read the Union-Tribune for the last decade are the ones who know the value of our work. People who work here are the ones who know the experience we built together. It has been extraordinary. I believe that journalism is one society’s greatest callings, one of the best things a person can do with their life. So it has been for me.”

Previously, he served as deputy editor of The Orange County Register, where he worked for 12 years.

Light has a B.A. from Brown University and an MBA from the University of California, Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business.

Reach out to Light via Twitter or LinkedIn.