Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Memory -- er, uh -- Lapses at the Union-Tribune

The Union-Tribune should be giving memory classes to its employees. Maybe an honesty class would help, too, but I don't want to pre-judge a case now going on in Superior Court. Background: Steve Kelley, former U-T editorial cartoonist, had once agreed to do a comic strip with the current editorial cartoonist, Steve Breen. But on the 2007 day on which Breen went to lunch with Karin Winner, editor, he called Kelley and backed out of the deal, according to Kelley's lawyer, Bob Gaglione. Kelley, whose earlier departure from the U-T had been a bitter one, sued the newspaper for interference with a contract, among other things.

On June 25 of this year, Breen gave a deposition. He stated under oath that he had told Bill Osborne, one of Winner's top lieutenants, twice about the arrangement with Kelley. And he stated, under oath, that one conference with Osborne had led, he thought, to a lunch with Winner.

Then, lo and behold, attorney Rebecca S. Roberts of Sheppard Mullin, the U-T's firm, wrote to Gaglione on August 5, a bit more than a month later, that Breen "does not recall telling Bill Osborne" about the contract. Then, on Oct. 2, Breen signed a statement, under penalty of perjury, that he did not recall informing Osborne about the contract at any time before he bailed out. Further, he did not recall informing Winner of the contract before he terminated it. Hmmmm.

Some other matters are relevant. A month after he had terminated the deal with Kelley, Breen wrote an email to John Glynn of the comic strip syndicate and stated, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news on my involvement with the strip. My paper is essentially telling me they don't want me working with Steve Kelley." Then, Glynn sent an email to a colleague within the syndicate, saying, "Steve Breen was given a nicely worded ultimatum by the San Diego Union-Tribune NOT to do the...strip with Steve Kelley." Superior Court Judge Jay M. Bloom initially ruled that these emails were hearsay and not admissible, but Glynn has since given a deposition in which he corroborates the essence of what Breen told him in the email -- that the U-T didn't want him working with Kelley. As the chorus master said when warming up his singers, "Hmmmm."

I sent an email to Breen asking if he has engaged in introspection over his purportedly faulty memory. I also asked him if anybody at the U-T or at Sheppard Mullin encouraged or coerced him to recant testimony made under oath. He would not comment. I also asked Osborne whether in fact he had talked with Breen, as Breen originally testified, and whether he has an explanation for Breen's supposed memory lapse. Osborne isn't talking. I asked Winner about what was said at that lunch, and whether Breen had spoken with Osborne before the termination. No talkee. Steve Kelley isn't talking, either.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county

The Union-Tribune should be giving memory classes to its employees. Maybe an honesty class would help, too, but I don't want to pre-judge a case now going on in Superior Court. Background: Steve Kelley, former U-T editorial cartoonist, had once agreed to do a comic strip with the current editorial cartoonist, Steve Breen. But on the 2007 day on which Breen went to lunch with Karin Winner, editor, he called Kelley and backed out of the deal, according to Kelley's lawyer, Bob Gaglione. Kelley, whose earlier departure from the U-T had been a bitter one, sued the newspaper for interference with a contract, among other things.

On June 25 of this year, Breen gave a deposition. He stated under oath that he had told Bill Osborne, one of Winner's top lieutenants, twice about the arrangement with Kelley. And he stated, under oath, that one conference with Osborne had led, he thought, to a lunch with Winner.

Then, lo and behold, attorney Rebecca S. Roberts of Sheppard Mullin, the U-T's firm, wrote to Gaglione on August 5, a bit more than a month later, that Breen "does not recall telling Bill Osborne" about the contract. Then, on Oct. 2, Breen signed a statement, under penalty of perjury, that he did not recall informing Osborne about the contract at any time before he bailed out. Further, he did not recall informing Winner of the contract before he terminated it. Hmmmm.

Some other matters are relevant. A month after he had terminated the deal with Kelley, Breen wrote an email to John Glynn of the comic strip syndicate and stated, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news on my involvement with the strip. My paper is essentially telling me they don't want me working with Steve Kelley." Then, Glynn sent an email to a colleague within the syndicate, saying, "Steve Breen was given a nicely worded ultimatum by the San Diego Union-Tribune NOT to do the...strip with Steve Kelley." Superior Court Judge Jay M. Bloom initially ruled that these emails were hearsay and not admissible, but Glynn has since given a deposition in which he corroborates the essence of what Breen told him in the email -- that the U-T didn't want him working with Kelley. As the chorus master said when warming up his singers, "Hmmmm."

I sent an email to Breen asking if he has engaged in introspection over his purportedly faulty memory. I also asked him if anybody at the U-T or at Sheppard Mullin encouraged or coerced him to recant testimony made under oath. He would not comment. I also asked Osborne whether in fact he had talked with Breen, as Breen originally testified, and whether he has an explanation for Breen's supposed memory lapse. Osborne isn't talking. I asked Winner about what was said at that lunch, and whether Breen had spoken with Osborne before the termination. No talkee. Steve Kelley isn't talking, either.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.