Don Bauder had his fans, no small number of foes
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Pain in side of corporate skullduggery moves on
Don Bauder had his fans, no small number of foes
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 9, 2003
As columnist Don Bauder retires from The San Diego Union-Tribune, the reactions vary from kudos for 30 years of covering the business community to a sigh of relief from the corporate executives, financial planners and sports-team owners who found themselves at the prickly end of his pen.
Bauder announced he was leaving the newspaper a week ago. He will shortly move into semi-retirement in Salida, Colo., although he hopes to continue writing and commenting on San Diego businesses in one capacity or another.
Bauder has picked up plenty of fans and made plenty of enemies. His fans viewed him as a bulwark against corporate skullduggery, flim-flam artists and "corporate socialism."
"Don played a key role in explaining some of the public subsidies of sports," said San Diego City Councilwoman Donna Frye, who – like Bauder – has been a long-time critic of government financial support of sports teams. "And he protected a lot of people from corporate scams. He was a passionate straight-shooter, and I'm going to miss him."
But detractors complain that Bauder often concentrated on penny-ante scamsters or money-losing companies rather than larger, more positive stories in the community.
"While Don has always looked for and been very happy to report on the negative aspects of business, he hasn't been as good at looking at the positive," said David Hale, founder of the Gensia biotech firm.
Gensia drew a couple dozen critical columns from Bauder as its stock plunged in the 1990s. The company eventually lost the bulk of its Wall Street value before merging with another biotech firm and moving to Orange County.
Bauder was equally critical of a number of high-tech and biotech firms that popped up and deteriorated during the stock market bubble.
"The job of a journalist is to report fully and fairly on what's going on," Bauder said. "We represent the stockholders in these companies, not the people in the boardroom. A high percentage of readers appreciate the fact that I was warning readers that stock prices were overvalued in the 1990s. I still think they're overvalued."
Bauder said that while high-tech and biotech stocks might be appropriate for speculators, they are not necessarily appropriate for the average investor, which is why he spent so much ink questioning their worth.
Bauder also carved out a beat writing about pyramid schemes and other scams.
"Don has been a great champion of the small investor and a fierce opponent of those who appeared to take advantage of the less-sophisticated," said Eric Benink, a local attorney who first came into contact with Bauder as a staffer for the Department of Corporations, the state securities regulator.
In recent years, Bauder has focused much of his attention on public funding of ballparks. In more than 125 columns, Bauder attacked the notion that the city should guarantee how many seats will be filled at Chargers games or provide financial support for a new ballpark for the Padres.
Bauder's columns became a rallying point for opponents of the downtown ballpark, who were ultimately defeated at the polls. The columns won him little love from the teams' owners, or from the corporate establishment downtown, which had pushed hard for the ballpark.
"I have no comment on Don Bauder's departure," said Larry Lucchino, former president of the San Diego Padres who now heads the Boston Red Sox. "In fact, I'm happy to have no further thoughts about Don Bauder."
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Dean Calbreath: (619) 293-1891; dean.calbreath@uniontrib.com |
