S1: This week on Roundtable. The San Diego Union Tribune is under new ownership and changes are coming for the region's largest newspaper.
S2: Well , it's certainly sad in the sense that it's , I would say , a new passing of an era. It's the third time that the paper has gone from family or individual ownership to to a company.
S1: What this means for San Diego and for the future of journalism as job cuts loom.
S3: And that's sad. And I'm worried. And I was immediately worried and don't think a lot of people were for the journalists who still do important work there.
S1: And as San Diego gets ready for a warm pride weekend , recent threats against the Lgbtq+ community , they've led to some big increases in insurance costs for pride organizations. Don't go anywhere. Roundtable is coming up next. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. I'm Matt Hoffman. San Diego's largest newspaper is changing ownership again. The Union-Tribune was sold this week to a hedge fund , and shortly after that , words of reduction in staff started spreading quickly. The change in ownership comes at a time where news and media companies across the country are making cuts. It's happening as advertising dollars drop and the way people consume media changes. Joining us to talk about the potential implications of this sale and really what it means for the San Diego community are Chris Ginuwine. He's the editor and publisher of Times of San Diego Kpbs. Katie Alvarado is here with us. She reported on this sale earlier this week. And Voice of San Diego CEO Scott Lewis is back with us. I want to welcome you all here to roundtable. Let's start with some quick first reactions. What do you all make of this sale ? And Chris , we can start with you.
S2: Well , it's certainly sad in the sense that it's a passing of , I would say , a new passing of an era. It's the third time that the paper has gone from family or individual ownership to to a company , in this case , a very cutthroat , if you will , investment firm. But it's happening all over the industry. So I don't think it's surprising.
S1:
S3: And I was I was , I think , surprised. And I think a lot of people were surprised that that Patrick Shinn , the richest man in LA , who had promised to help them get through that , had basically abandoned them and that process and and that's sad. And I'm worried. And I was immediately worried and don't think a lot of people were for the journalists who still do important work there.
S1: And , Kitty , what are some of your initial first impressions ? Heartbroken.
S4: I think I knew immediately what that meant , which would be reporters would be losing their jobs. And I was heartbroken. I did cry. I was sad.
S1: And Chris , can you sort of put the UT in perspective for our audience ? You know , there's a lot of news outlets , TV stations , radio stations , even online sources and , of course , the paper.
S2: We used to talk about newspapers of record that covered everything of importance and that acted in a way of an archive of how a community developed and progressed over the decades. In many communities there were several newspapers of record. This is the last one here of the other , smaller ones have largely have largely gone away. And with the cuts , it's probably not going to fulfill that function in the coming years. So for people who want a long term , even historical record of San Diego , it's not going to be there. There's going to be news coverage in many different places , online , TV , as you mentioned. But that single thread of consistent coverage , I think is going to be much less powerful.
S1: And we'll definitely get into maybe why you think that is later. But you talked about the longevity there , over 150 years in business and we know they've gone through multiple owners , Scott And now it's media news group and we know that they own a lot of other papers across the US before we get into who they are. Can you tell us a little bit about the paper's previous owner ? We know that he's a Los Angeles billionaire. And you wrote this week , Scott , that he promised stability back when he bought the UT along with the Los Angeles Times.
S3: He had a big meeting with the employees when he purchased the UT along with the LA Times and said , quote , You now have stability , which , you know , they had been going through a lot of worry about their previous ownership and plans and ideas and news that were spoken about it. So that was a significant thing to say , you know , But from the beginning , a lot of us heard and he very clearly not only didn't show the same interest in San Diego that he did in LA , he didn't invest in the same way he didn't hire and the same way he didn't. He created a new headquarters for the la times , a bunch of new products for the L.A. Times a bunch of new just momentum towards doing things for the LA Times. And he also cared about la public affairs in a way that he never showed in San Diego. Just really he promised in that meeting that he wouldn't treat San Diego's forgotten stepchild. But that's literally what he did. And and I think that was fine. I think a lot of people were fine with that , that , you know , he could continue to steward the paper , the paper , as they always say , is profitable. It's making more money than it's than it's spending. But the trajectory is what's so scary about that. The all newspapers are marching toward a cliff where it's no longer worth the cost of printing the product every day. And are they going to be able to make the transition to the other side of the canyon with with , you know , a digital future that provides enough money for for that newsroom operation. And I think , you know , he talked about turning the paper into a nonprofit. There was discussions about even handing it to a university. There was all kinds of things. It has a lot of legacy costs that a lot of people were worried about , pensions and just long term issues. And it just it didn't look appealing. It wasn't able to pull anything off. And so it wasn't a surprise that he would move on for it , except for how much we had heard about about how positive and optimistic the UT management was , in part because the , quote , enlightened ownership that they had and that they weren't being led or owned by one of these places that has been well known for just sort of extracting as much profit as possible before it kind of sees a demise. So that's what's hard. And he just plainly wasn't interested in San Diego and wasn't interested in trying to make this work.
S1: So enter in new owners in media news group. That's part of the hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
S2: It was started by Dean Singleton , a newspaper entrepreneur. He lives in Denver , is in his 70s now. In his heyday , he was considered something of a cost cutter and people did not want their newspapers to be bought by media news group because he found ways to get to get savings by combining operations. In many cases , multiple newspapers shared the same copy desk or the same design desk , things like that. He he bought a lot of newspapers in the period 2000 to 2010 before the real impact of the Internet. During that time he bought a San Jose Mercury News , the Long Beach Press Telegram. Now they'll own most of the large newspapers in California , San Diego , of course , Orange County Register , Riverside Press , Enterprise. They are cost cutters. They want to make a profit , but they do no newspapers. So in that sense , they they are a company that if you're going to be bought out by a hedge fund , you'd rather be bought out by them. I think despite the history.
S1: And Kitty Scott , you guys have anything else you want to add here or.
S3: There was a great profile about the company in the Atlantic where they just refused to participate and it described what they did to Chicago Tribune. I actually met Dean Singleton. I did a profile on him a long time ago and talked to him a few years later. He yeah , he did. He he prided himself on his ability to sort of keep newspapers alive as as they went through such an economic correction and disruption. And I think that's what Alden is known for , cutting it down and extracting capital. But they also are the only ones buying newspapers right now , and they've laid off fewer people than than Gannett. So I think they are what they are and they've made it very clear what they are in the community. I think , again , the real disappointment is , is the former owner.
S4: Kitty , go ahead. Yeah , I just I don't know as much about them as I as I wish I did because they control and own so many newspapers. I mean , I believe it's like 70 dailies and over three. Hundred weeklies , and that's a lot of consolidated power. And I personally don't think any one company should own and control. I believe that's dangerous and I just don't believe in that.
S1:
S2: What's happening in newspapers is much like what's already happened in local TV. I mean , there are three companies that own most of the local TV stations in California now. And I think you're going to continue to see this consolidation because these really are declining industries. The Internet is the future , and the same applies to both the TV stations and newspapers , is they're still trying very hard to cut costs and find a way to keep doing what they've always done rather than making a fundamental change. For example , stopping printing , you cut 70% of your costs and focus on online.
S4: Well , I think the funny thing is that probably since newspapers or any media form was invented , they've been saying it's dying.
S2: It is to this day , a cash cow.
S4: There we. Go.
S2: Go. Because what they're what they're betting is that the baby boomers over the next 10 to 15 years are going to still read newspapers. They won't notice if it's not the same level of reporting , the same level of commentary. And you make money as long as they're still there. It's I was thinking of an analogy as I was coming over here. CDs. I still buy CDs now. Nobody really needs to buy a CD anymore. That's exactly what's going on in newspapers. Nobody really needs a physical newspaper , but there's still a market for it. There's still a habit to be served.
S1: And Scott , we know that literally just minutes after people at the paper found out about this sale , a word of staff reductions shortly followed.
S3: And I think a lot of us were wondering how or why the UT the Tribune was spared that sort of same correction or whether they were just overlooked once again or whether there was something coming. And I think now we know pretty clearly that they were just delayed or passed off to the new owner to deal with. And and so that's yet another reason I would say , like it's probably not the boogeymen necessarily , that all them is the one who's who's dealing with this , that there was probably going to be something similar under the previous owner if they kept it. I do think they've they've offered buyouts first. We'll be interested to see who they accept buyouts from if people want it and they're refused , you know , who they what coverage areas they cut. UT used to have 406 or more than 400 people in the newsroom in 2006 , and now it's around 100. And so there has been a lot of you know , they used to have five education reporters , five South Bay reporters , all kinds of people involved in coverage in different areas. And now there's one South Bay reporter and one education reporter. And you can't cut much more without cutting bone. And a lot of us , our organizations were formed as kind of muscle on top of that infrastructure. You want that sort of continuity and coverage of of decision making and issues going forward so that you can do specialized or investigative stuff on top. And we're all going to have to grapple with the fact that maybe some of those things that we took for granted are going to be gone forever.
S1: We want to hear from you. Let us know your thoughts on the state of journalism in San Diego. Give us a call. (619) 452-0228. You can leave us a voicemail there or email us at roundtable at pbs.org. Coming up , more on the changing landscape of news.
S4: Reporters are dogged and persistent and creative , and they will always find a way to to tell stories and do news whatever medium it's in. And people will always read it.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. You're listening to Kpbs roundtable. This week , we're talking about the sale of the San Diego Union-Tribune , and we're discussing the impact that it could have on local journalism. We're here with times of San Diego's Christian Kpbs , Katie Alvarado and Voice of San Diego CEO Scott Lewis. Now , we've seen a lot of concern from staff , Katie , on social media that currently work there. You spoke with a couple former UT employees and they're really worried right now.
S4: I think primarily for for their friends , their colleagues. You know , they told me , as you mentioned , they got the news via email and then shortly after they got the initial news of the sale , they were told , well , you have to either quote , you have to choose between , quote , voluntary separation , which is a strange phrase , or layoffs will happen. And I mean , what a choice. You know , pick your , you know , your own livelihood that supports your family. You worked hard to get that job. You love it. It's your passion. Or , you know , when a member of your news family is going to be cut and you're going to it's your fault. You're the greedy one. So pick your poison. And that is not a choice. And that that is disturbing in itself. But then they're also worried , you know , they're worried about the community. You know , the community is is ultimately the people they're the ones that are going to suffer. You know , it's these journalists work tirelessly to make sure this community stays informed. They call out those who abuse power. When money's allocated to a certain organization , they make sure , you know , they check and double check. Let's see if they're doing the right thing. And , you know , it's it's going to be really sad. They tell stories of your stories. The stories of people in the community keeps us all connected and they tell us about events. And I mean , I could go on and on. And it's that when I start to think about the dominoes that are going to fall once even one reporter loses their job , it's heartbreaking. And even with cuts , they have continued to do extraordinary work , investigative pieces. And something that Wendy Wendy Frye said , a former reporter , she said , you know , I can guarantee you that after that email , they didn't spend too much time thinking about themselves. They went on and kept writing that article , kept digging , called their sources and went right back to work because they had that deadline and and care and care. And that is that broke my heart.
S1: And I know sometimes when people hear about these things , they say cuts. But we're talking about actual human beings here and people that have livelihoods. They have families. Chris used to work at the Union Tribune as well. Maybe different situation , but you've been through a period where they had cuts.
S2: And I've been on both ends of this. I've been an executive having to lay people off. And I've been someone who's been involved myself. You know , your first your first thought is , well , what am I going to do next ? And then is it going to be me ? And should I take the buyout ? You know , you want to think about all those all those things , the you know , and it usually takes several days before the shock wears off and you start really thinking , what is my next move ? The for the people who are older , the question is , can I retire as my is my 401. K large enough. I was 57 when I left the newspaper industry and it turned out to be a great move for me. But , you know , it might not be for everyone , but one of the things that I would , I tell anyone would tell anyone who's in this situation is there are other possibilities out there. There are the Internet is full of new opportunities at this point. It doesn't they don't look like newspapers. They look like individual small publications , publications that are represented , say , by the local , independent online newspaper publishers. Many people are starting their own with 2 or 3 others. Google is beginning to help with with funding through its new showcase program. There are going to be opportunities out there , and for some people it may be best to , you know , to take that buyout and then go start something one. I think what happens in every industry where there are cuts is the really bright people. The people who have a vision of the future end up innovating and creating something. Do.
S1: Do. And so we know that staff are going to be leaving.
S3: It's like a gas. It'll fill up whatever size attention span anyone has. And so to to have local news a part of that intention , attention span is a very precious part of anybody's attention. Real estate , you might call it. So if you lose that , people will fill it with other media sources quite quickly , and they will. And I hope some of them would recognize what they're missing. But a lot of them will just know that they have plenty of other things they can watch or do. And I think there's been a lot of really good studies about what happens to corruption , to wasted public resources and other just public calamities that come when when a news source leaves a community with a newspaper closes or when a when people aren't covering that community. And I think there are already areas right now that aren't being covered enough news deserts , as some people call them , and city councils and school districts where we don't know what's happening because nobody's watching them and nobody's reporting on them. And and it hurts. Engagement hurts involvement. It hurts representation. It hurts good decision making and it fosters corruption , waste and all kinds of problems. And so a lot of us are going to try to step up and do our part to do more and more and and get the kind of investment that that would require. But it's it's going to need to happen fast because I think there are going to be some changes and probably not for the better for a while. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And I know I certainly don't need to tell all of you about the importance of journalism in a community.
S2: But when you look there are going to be opportunities that come up. And I saw that at Patch , where at one point there were a thousand editors and then after the sale , it went down to maybe 30 or 40 across the country. And a lot of those people at Patch , I was one of them , ended up starting businesses , starting publications , and not everyone made it. Times of San Diego has been one has been more than a survivor. It's thrived. But that's what comes out of a large company cutting back , going bankrupt , whatever it might be. And so when the dust settles in several months , I think many of these very talented people are going to find opportunities might be in public relations , it might be in education , it might be starting their own thing , it might be freelance , it might be covering for other publications.
S1:
S2: You know , there was that. There was that. There were a couple of cases in Los Angeles where Hollywood Gardens and I forget the other community where there was massive corruption and nobody was reporting on it because there was no there were no reporters. There were no there was no coverage. One thing that is potential in today's Internet is the the start up costs for a publication , which can be just on Facebook , can be just a you know , it can just be a Twitter feed or a new threads feed. You know , that's a way to start to start holding people accountable.
S1: And we know that , you know , job losses in this industry , they've been happening a lot this year. I think Axios had a report out that it's one of the highest years ever and tons. Los Angeles Times latest NPR. Unfortunately , I could really go on there , but it seems like the way people have consumed media is changing the way advertisers are spending. Their dollars is changing. Chris And Scott , I don't know if you guys can you guys obviously run news organizations.
S3: Craigslist and Google and all kinds of platforms provided better and more responsive and transparent ways to advertise. And all that money left newspapers and to them , not all of it. There's still a lot that they're making from the the print paper and such. But basically , a lot of these newspapers and a lot of news sources across the country are turning to the model of getting their money from readers or people who value the the reporting. There's basically two models to do that , either a subscription or a. Or philanthropic or charitable donation Like what Kpbs and San Diego does. Others are still making some money from from display ads like Chris and and making things come together. So but getting money from people who value it is is basically what a lot of the future that people are aiming for.
S1: Yeah and that's usually like a nonprofit model. But we know that there obviously can be challenges there and layoffs there. Chris , do you want to jump in ? Sure.
S2: The you know , one of the great sadnesses in what happened to newspapers I think has a lot to do with advertising in the 80s and 90s. Newspapers were incredibly profitable. And I remember in in 2000 , the San Jose Mercury Mercury News had a classified recruitment business worth $100 Million a year revenue , just the help wanted ads and classified and the what and newspapers rested on that. They they didn't realize that as they kept raising ad rates eventually there was going to be competition and so you got the online advertising ecosystem , you got Craigslist , you got many different ways to get your message out there. I think for the for the for profit media world , it's leveraging this Internet media ecosystem , working with Google , working with Facebook , making sure that anybody can buy an ad on your site , using using the bidding process for online advertising. Yes. Yes. The rates are lower. Yes , the revenue is lower than the old fashioned newspaper model or the old fashioned local TV model , but it is an assured revenue stream once you develop it and you build the audience. So I think that's really where the future is for the for profit. It's still advertising. It's just a less expensive advertising model , if you will.
S1: And as Scott talked about in Scott's reported , the UT certainly has been moving there. It kind of makes that sale even , you know , just more questionable in terms of all the reporting out there that they were profitable over at the UT. But , you know , guys , we've talked a lot about changes in journalism today. But a question for everybody. I'm wondering if you guys see any glimmers of hope for the future of the journalism industry and Katie or Chris Scott , whoever wants to take it first.
S4: Is there any hope ? There's always hope. I think we need to find creative ways to if profit is is the problem , make it more profitable. But I don't really think it's that big of a of an issue. The profit side because people are buying it up are very interested in it and ultimately that that's what what says everything to me and you know you want to make money good for you. Don't do it by gutting news. It's going to have terrible repercussions. But yeah , I mean , there's always hope. And reporters are dogged and persistent and creative and they will always find a way to to tell stories and do news whatever medium it's in. And people will always read it. I know people say , well , AI is going to kill the reporter. And I say , No , it's not. You know , any robot can regurgitate facts , but , you know , it takes a reporter to go out to the scene , hug , hug people , speak with them , hear them cry , smell of fire , see the fire , watch the the firemen fight it and tell you firsthand what they saw and tell those stories that are impactful to you and you carry with you that , you know , make you want to create change in your community , get you angry , get you sad and inspire you maybe to dream. I know some of the stories we we have on air here make me do that. And a robot can't do that. So I believe there's hope and reporters are incredible. So if you want a good employee , hire a journalist. They are incredible people. They will not stop until they get all the facts and dot the AI and cross the T and and they can do a job , you know. Three 6524 over seven if they have to get the answer and the truth. And I'm telling you , there's it's a special kind of person , not because I'm a reporter , but they will not embarrass your company on social media. And it's all about.
S1: Building those relationships. And thankfully , I don't think I can can do that yet. That's the.
S4: Reporter's incredible. Yes.
S1: Yes. Thank you. But Chris Scott.
S2: I like the way you say that. Kitty , I that's really refreshing because I think you're absolutely right. I think reporters , journalists are special kind of people. And I'm an optimist because I think when you take that special ability , that special concern for telling stories for the truth , and you do that in a world where it's a lot easier to start your own company , it's a lot easier to experiment and innovate with new ideas. I think there are opportunities out there. Lots of them. Even for even for , you know , take someone like me. I started I was over 60 when I started an online news site. There are a lot of opportunities out there , and I think we'll see some of that coming out of this.
S4: You're incredible. I really admire what you do. And and you're a perfect example of of you can keep doing what you love and , you know , make a make a good life for yourself.
S1:
S3: I think a lot of people get in the moment where they're like , oh , this is just nobody cares about this. It's all falling apart. And I think people need to keep in mind that , yes , these legacy giant organizations with built up history and debts are really going to have a lot of work to do to to realign themselves for the future. But you could cover comprehensively with investigative reporting all the major parts of San Diego and its public affairs and its geography and arts and culture and other things for I estimated between 10 and $15 million. And that sounds like a lot , but , you know , there are plenty of operas and museums and other places that operate at a similar , similar level. If it's a if it was. No , it's not to say it's easy to pull that capital and realign it , but there are it is not a big problem to solve. And we should be strong enough as a community. And we've taken more steps than other communities have along the route of trying to solve that. And so I wouldn't assume that that this isn't something we can't address with with some civic minded and entrepreneurial efforts.
S1: And as we wrap up the show here , final question to everybody as well. What questions do you guys still have about this , about the sale of the Union-Tribune or anything else that you're going to be watching for in the weeks and months ahead ? And Chris , we can start with you. If everybody could be a little brief here.
S2: I'll be interested to know who's affected , what their plans are , whether there are some who might , you know , we might be able to work with at times of San Diego. I'll be interested to see what what happens to the newspaper itself , to its coverage as media news takes over.
S4: Why , why and how how many papers is is enough.
S1: And Scott , you have the final word.
S3: I just want to see what they do. You know , maybe maybe this surprise us. Maybe they create some new products. Maybe they maybe they don't cut where we worry. So let's see. And let's see if they start to say things publicly.
S1: And we know that. We just want to say that our hearts go out to our colleagues over there at the Union Tribune. They do great work. And hopefully these cuts are not something that's going to be major. I've been speaking with Kpbs Katie Alvarado , Chris Genuine from Times of San Diego and Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis. I just want to say thank you all for being here.
S2: Thank you. Thank you.
S3: Thanks.
S1: When Kpbs roundtable returns. We're taking a look at how recent threats against the LGBTQ Plus community have led to some big increases in insurance costs for pride groups. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. You're listening to Kpbs Roundtable. I'm Matt Hoffman. San Diego is getting ready for Pride weekend. All week long , events have been going on. There was a block party. The Spirit of Stonewall rally is coming up and the Pride parade is Saturday in Hillcrest. Thousands of people are expected to turn out , but this year , festivals are seeing a sharp increase in insurance costs. This is happening as anti LGBTQ threats are on the rise. Kpbs investigative reporter Scott Rod dug into the numbers and he joins us now to discuss what he found. Scott , welcome back to Roundtable.
S5: Thanks for having me on.
S1: Good to have you here. So you wrote that the good vibes this year , they've been tempered by a growing concern behind the scenes.
S5: Just last month , a man was arrested for making for allegedly making a bomb threat and threats about carrying out a shooting against the Pride event in Nashville. We're seeing heated rhetoric really increased just across the country. And here in California. The Department of Justice released a report that said between 2021 and 2022 , the number of reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation increased nearly 30%. And during that time , the number of reported hate crime events against trans and gender nonconforming people jumped by more than 50%. So we're seeing this across the country and also here specifically in California. And this is raising concerns for folks. I will say I went to the opening event for this year's Pride and there were a lot of people there. The the vibes overall were good. People were coming out showing their spirit. But as you mentioned , behind the scenes , there is some concern here about this uptick in anti LGBT sentiment and threats. Okay.
S1: Okay.
S5: We are going to charge you this much. And typically that correlates to how much risk that they see in events. Typically , we'll need to carry at least a basic form of insurance and it can get more complex from there. But essentially insurance will cover things like if someone trips and falls , they get hurt , they file a claim against the organization. It could also it'll it can cover bigger events , like if a stage collapses or if , God forbid , some sort of incident happens like a shooting. And then , as I mentioned , insurance can get a little more complex from there. There are different layers like event cancellation insurance , which , you know , if something unforeseen happens , the organization will be covered to an extent based on their costs for a cancellation. But the type of insurance that I really zeroed in on is liability insurance. So where insurance companies say what is the risk of something happening and incident happening ? And that's where a lot of these festivals are seeing huge increases in the quotes that they're getting for insurance companies.
S1: You spoke with San Diego Pride's executive director about the increase in hate crimes and in turn , the uptick in liability costs.
S5: They're seeing a lot of a lot of support and a lot of enthusiasm around this year's Pride Festival. But they said the people who are vocally opposed and making threats , those people , while maybe a smaller minority , are feeling emboldened. They are speaking louder. They're feeling emboldened to make these threats. So he said navigating that has been pretty tricky because , again , support generally is high. But there are those concerns that the minority who are voicing these threats could potentially carry something out.
S1: You also noted that San Diego pride this year went with a more basic insurance plan for their events.
S5: San Diego pride typically has carried what's called excess insurance. That means that it covers large dollar figure. Liabilities. So if a major incident happens , you know , a stage collapsing or some sort of major event that caused , you know , a lot of harm to people in past years or last year , that last year , that costs them about $10,000 to carry that policy. This year , insurance companies quoted them at $300,000 if they wanted to carry that extra layer of insurance. And Fernando Lopez just said , you know , we couldn't do that as an organization. That would mean pulling pulling essential funding from other programs because SD Pride is a year round organization , not just the one time festival. And that just for them doesn't square. It doesn't make sense for them as an organization. And so they told me that they decided to go with this more basic insurance plan , even though they know that there's sort of a calculated risk there , they might have more exposure. They might have more financial liability if an incident happens. But that's the circumstances that those are the circumstances that they found themselves in.
S1: That's a really big increase. And you also spoke with an event insurance broker about all this. What is he saying ? Like , is this something that's temporary or something that maybe they see for the foreseeable future ? Sure. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. I spoke to a broker from a company called Caliph Insurance. They're based out of Texas and they provide broker services for San Diego pride , as well as dozens of other pride organizations around the country. And they also just specialize generally in event insurance across the board. And the broker I spoke to told me , you know , insurance costs are going up for all outdoor events , concerts , festivals , fairs. And he said for a number of reasons. He said people who file a claim against a festival for something minor , like a slip and fall , they are filing lawsuits more frequently now , which means , you know , more money that these festivals will likely have to pay either in settlements or in attorney fees. There are also generally speaking , insurance markets are overburdened right now. There are a lot of claims , high dollar claims being filed , tied to things that aren't connected to festivals , you know , things like wildfires , things like hurricanes where people are losing their homes. But , you know , insurance markets are kind of like a balloon where if you squeeze one side , the pressure is felt on the other side. So that's also partly to blame for why these events are seeing their costs go up. But this broker told me that Pride festivals in particular are being scrutinized. He said an unprecedented ways. He said , you know , the concerns around the rise in anti LGBT sentiment , anti LGBT threats and hate crimes is causing insurance companies to really examine these festivals closely and assess a higher level of risk , determine that these festivals are at greater risk of something potentially happening , something that could cause harm to a lot of people. And so that is why festivals are seeing their costs increase , because insurance companies are looking at these festivals and saying , you know , we see increased risk here.
S1: And as you mentioned up at the top , the festivities are still underway. It sounds like a lot of people are still in an upbeat mood despite some of the stuff that you were reporting. I've been speaking with Kpbs investigative reporter Scott Rod. And Scott , thanks so much for being here.
S5: Thanks again for having me on.
S1: And now it's time for the round Table roundup where we take a look at some other things that are happening in San Diego. And with us to help break it all down is Kpbs roundtable producer Andrew Bracken. Andrew , what's up ? Hi , Matt. Happy Friday. All right. What do you got ? Well , first off , last week we spoke about upcoming.
S6: Comic-Con and some of the potential implications of how the writers strike was going to impact it. And now the actors are on strike. Went into effect last night. Stars of the new film Oppenheimer apparently walked out in the middle of their premiere. So the writers and Hollywood actors are on strike. So we'll we'll see that in Comic-Con this year , coming up next week. Yeah , we.
S1: Know it's having an impact for sure on Comic-Con. Some of the studio's not coming. Sounds like some maybe are still going. And I know people might not know. But here at Kpbs , the content creators are part of Sag-aftra , but not part of the same kind of branch as the actors. So , you know , the work continues on here. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. And I'm not sure how long it'll take before people start seeing that in the content that , you know , the movies they watch and the TV shows they see. The writers have been on strike for a couple of months now. It doesn't sound like it's going to end anytime soon.
S1: And we know there's some other things going on ups , lots of big bargaining agreements or disagreements , I should say. All right.
S6: There was a Zillow report showing that San Diego has overtaken the third highest rent prices in the nation overtaking San Francisco.
S1: That's a reality that many San Diegans have. I know it is super hard to buy a house out here. I'm a renter and I just got a rent a rent increase this year.
S6: Well , I mean , it's just something we keep coming back to on roundtable. We talk about housing , we talk about homelessness. And we know house prices are still astronomically high. But this rent price seems to have just increased over the the last few years of the pandemic. On Midday Edition earlier this week was San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria , who spoke , you know , specifically about issues of of housing and homelessness. And here's a little of what he had to say. Bottom line , it is not uncommon in my day.
S7: To hear from San Diegans who are extremely frustrated by our homelessness crisis and in the very same conversation have them expressed to me their opposition to providing more housing. That position is inconsistent. You cannot be upset about our homelessness crisis and simultaneously oppose the construction of more housing.
S6: And you hear there I mean , he's he's referring to , you know , his MOStrillionECENT housing package , proposals to increase housing construction , including adopting SB ten , which is a city's can opt into this state law that was passed allowing for greater flexibility in building more units in San Diego. But you can tell that conversation , you know , these these issues of homelessness and housing kind of go hand in hand. And they're not all interrelated. But the cost of living here is just it's very high. And this this report from Zillow is just another example of that.
S1: Yeah , just kind of putting it into words for people that are already living the reality of the high cost of rent here. And I know Pride is this weekend and it sounds like Kpbs is going to be out there.
S6: That's right. Yeah , they should be there. So if you're there , keep an eye out for for some Kpbs shirts and some employees will be out there for sure.
S1: And if you are going out there , it is going to be warm this weekend. So sunscreen and lots of water stay hydrated out there. All right. That's the round up. Andrew , thanks for being here. Thank you. That's going to do it for roundtable this week. If you have any thoughts on today's show and want to leave us a comment , you can leave us a voicemail. (619) 452-0228 or you can email us roundtable at pbs.org. If you missed any part of our show , head over and check out the Kpbs Roundtable podcast. Our show airs at Kpbs , FM noon on Fridays and again on Sunday at 6 a.m.. Roundtable is produced by Andrew Bracken. Rebecca Chacon and Adrian Villalobos are our technical directors. I'm your host , Matt Hoffman. Thanks so much for being here with us and have a great weekend. San Diego.
