First cost-cutting of new year *

Production and copy editing at all the Singleton papers in SoCal will merge into a universal desk to be based at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, I'm hearing. This means that news and sports from the Breeze in Torrance and the Long Beach Press-Telegram, as well as the Daily News, will now be vetted and penciled (digitally of course) way over in West Covina. Gary Scott hears ten copy editor slots could be lost. The Daily News began to be informed today that the move will happen in February or March, and the word I'm getting from Woodland Hills is that even the skeleton-staffed paper is now losing money and is looking to give up one of the floors the DN occupied in September in the new building on Burbank Boulevard.

* Devil's in the details: The Southern California Media Guild hears it a bit differently than its members at the Daily News heard from editor Carolina Garcia. Email from guild officer Vicki Di Paolo:

Hi everyone, In a meeting late this afternoon I was told by SVP Jim Janiga that the San Bernardino Sun, the Redlands Daily Facts, the Inland Daily Bulletin, the Pasadena Star-News and the Whittier Daily News copy desks will be moved/centralized in San Gabriel. The company plans to reduce the number of employees both in managment and the staff who perform the work. Janiga did not have exact numbers but did say the employer may have a problem if current staffers were not willing to commute to San Gabriel. He also stated that if this proves successful the company plans to also move the Daily Breeze and the Daily News there in a few months - most likely April. I understand the information above conflicts with what Daily News members were told by Carolina this afternoon. I am sending Janiga an email questioning which statements are most accurate. In unity, Vicki