Union Managers Learn to Put Out Paper; Someone Forgets Not to Deliver It

A harmless test, that’s all it was.

But try telling that to some confused San Diego Union subscribers, who did not know what to think when they picked up the newspaper Monday morning and read an apparently exclusive front-page story announcing the formation of a new political coalition headed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and former television evangelist Pat Robertson.

The bogus story came with a Washington dateline and the headline “New coalition: Jackson-Robertson,” and ran under the byline of Peter Kaye, a Union associate editor.

It was the prominent part of a special “test” edition that was accidentally delivered to about 100 subscribers.

Gearing Up for Strike

Herbert Klein, editor in chief of Copley Newspapers, chuckled over the incident Wednesday, explaining that the story and another parody that appeared inside the paper were included in a test run of about 3,000 copies produced Sunday by members of Union management.

Managers at the Union are gearing up for a possible strike by members of the San Diego Newspaper Guild this summer. They are training to put out the paper without its Guild members, who include virtually all of the staff’s reporters and some editors.

Sunday’s test edition was the first trial run after several training sessions. In a telephone interview, Klein said all copies were supposed to have been destroyed, but about 100 papers from the test were accidentally delivered to subscribers’ homes in La Mesa on Monday morning.

Bibles for the Barrio

According to the front-page article, Jackson and Robertson, whose photos accompanied the story, were calling for the formation of a network of young people called the CIA (Christian Infiltration Agents) to “bombard the barrio with Bibles.”

The story identified former White House deputy press secretary Larry Speakes as spokesman for the new coalition, and said that Jackson and Robertson had agreed on several important issues. It said they could not agree, however, on which man would be the presidential candidate, but had decided on the Rev. Jerry Falwell to head the U.S. Postal Service “because there is nobody better at spreading the word,” and agreed to retain Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese because “they could not improve on the incumbent.”

Inside, on Page 14, was a purported interview with Speakes, who was supposedly lying low in Ensenada because of the controversy stirred by his recent “tell all” book on his experiences as Reagan Administration spokesman.

Speakes ‘Speaks’

The story suggested that Speakes, who has admitted in his book that he fabricated quotes he attributed to President Reagan, had been driven to drink by the ensuing turmoil. The Union story attributes a “fabricated” quote to him that says, “We should be able to believe what we read or hear in the news media.”

A “quote” from Speakes was highlighted: “Listen. Why shouldn’t I make up quotes? I’m a good writer. Maybe not in the Hemingway class, but Harold Robbins could learn something from me.”

The Speakes story appeared above an Associated Press story outlining the mating rites of the California elephant seal and headlined “Just another day of sex and violence.” That story was next to one headlined “Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse.”

Klein said subscribers who received the test edition “were puzzled.”

Subscriptions Canceled

Several called the Union to complain about the papers, which had “Test Edition” and “Test format test” printed in bold, 30-point type over the paper’s nameplate, which bore a March 38, 1973, date. Some copies also had blank pages inside.

Sources at the paper who did not want to be identified said some angry readers canceled their subscriptions.

Emily Ewanowich said Wednesday that she was angered by the mock edition she received and canceled her subscription.

No Hockey Scores

“The paper is very important to us, and we’re concerned about accuracy. . . . And besides, there was nothing in the sports pages. I was looking for the hockey scores and they weren’t there,” said Ewanowich, who added that she bought a subscription to a “better newspaper.”

Management and unions representing workers at the Union, including reporters, are engaged in talks over a new contract to replace the current one, which expires in June.

For the last few weeks, managers at the paper have engaged in Sunday training sessions to learn the mechanical functions--typesetting, paste-up, running the presses, etc.--that go into producing a daily newspaper. In the event of a strike, management plans also call for some editors to assume reporting and writing duties.

Klein said no one was disciplined because of the mistaken deliveries. When asked if he had heard from the Jackson or Robertson camps, he said:

“No, not a word. They haven’t offered to join up yet.”