📧 w/ Casteneda

Mx. Casteñeda;

You told me in writing that my commentary would be published "first or second week of Dec." That leaves just tomorrow or Friday. Which day can I expect my voice to be heard as a veteran being deprived of my civil rights in San Diego under Cal. Gov. Code 12920?

• According to current Census data, there are 1,386,932 San Diegans that make up your audience
• According to the San Diego Military Advisory Council, your audience includes 230,507 veterans and at least 15,165 service members.

The military community makes up 17.7% of your audience, so why are you ignoring us? 

Here's a better question: Does the San Diego Union Tribune employ members of the military community as reporters, or is it typical of SDUT to pay outsiders to report on other minorities, such as gender or racial minorities?

@ 1502 from SDUT

I apologize but we had to shift some pieces around and I can't get yours in until Wed or Thursday next week.  We used to have a full time military reporter, but we don't currently. To answer your question, no we don't pay for commentary. Does that mean you still want us to consider your piece or not?

@ 1540 to SDUT

You have misunderstood my question. I was not suggesting you pay me for a piece I submitted according to your own Commentary Guidelines. Members of the military community like myself makeup 17.7% of your reader base, so,

What do military families have to do to get the San Diego Union Tribune to care about their civil rights? 

On November 22, I asked you about Sam Schulz, the Union Tribune's self-proclaimed government and watchdog editor, because she ignored two February 2023 emails implicating Congressional Representative Mike Levin for anti-military bias. 

In reply, you said my community's civil rights would be acknowledged within a two week period, "not until first or second week of Dec"; in other words, you had considered and accepted it. Instead of telling me in advance you wanted to push my piece, you waited until there were two days left.

Now I know why you are playing fast and loose with your employer's integrity, because the San Diego Union Tribune expects military families to accept second class citizenship. If you are no different than the American Academy of Religion, then it stands to reason SDUT may be violating California's anti-discrimination protections. 

You can stick to the timeline I agreed to or I will take steps to assert my civil rights under state law. The fact that you have no military reporter covering one of the largest military communities in the United States says a lot about your priorities as it is. 

@ 1544 from SDUT

We will not be publishing your piece. It has nothing to do with your military experience. It has to do with your lack of understanding how this works and what is required to edit your piece.

Thank you for the submission but your hostility is not welcome.

@ 1625 to SDUT

Stop removing the email addresses of your superiors. I am CCing local attorneys so there is a paper trail in the event a lawsuit is warranted. 

Thank you for making explicit that newsworthiness is not determinative for publication. What matters is how you feel about being held accountable. Civilian fragility and bias trumps service and sacrifice; the same equation used by Southern whites against black veterans in the 1940’s. 

I will put out correspondence online and look into an investigation by CCR.