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It’s far too premature to write about the demise of the San Francisco Chronicle, but it may be fair to say that the moves taking place over at the once-mighty newspaper’s headquarters these days have a faint murmur of a death march. Highly respected editors and reporters some consider among the most talented at the paper are being called into meetings and then quietly escorted from the building at Fifth and Mission streets, leaving those behind in shocked silence. It is the grim, somewhat inevitable consequence of an organization that lost its way and panicked in its efforts to find...

Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko Date/Time: 6/5/2007 1:45:00 PM Title: SF Chronicle deputy managing editors depart Posted By: Jim Romenesko May 31 memo from San Francisco Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein [Deputy managing editors] John Curley and Leslie Guevarra will be leaving the Chronicle today. I want to acknowledge the enormous contributions both of these fine journalists have made to their craft and to the Chronicle. No one takes any pleasure in the loss of quality people, which is a painful reality when a newspaper reduces its staff to this extent and where there is a corresponding need for a smaller...

The Chronicle's announcement earlier this month that 100 newsroom jobs will be slashed in the coming weeks in the face of mounting financial woes represents just the latest chapter in a tragic story of traditional journalism's decline. Reportedly losing an estimated $1 million a week, the paper's owner, the Hearst Corp., concluded it had no recourse but to trim costs by laying off reporters, editors and other skilled professionals, or offering buyouts to the most seasoned journalists in order to induce them to leave. The cuts reportedly will amount to a quarter of The Chronicle's editorial staff. In the age...

Chronicle management informed the newspaper guild Thursday that it intends to cut 80 union and 20 management positions in the editorial department, the guild said in a statement. The cuts represent roughly 25 percent of the newsroom staff of about 400. Michael Cabanatuan, president of the Northern California Media Workers Guild, said management described the cuts as necessary because the paper is losing substantial funds. Newspapers across the country have seen reduced circulation and falling advertising revenue in recent years as the industry copes with the emergence of online media. The union has proposed a plan to achieve the target...

I hate to play Valleywag, but I'm hearing rumors that the San Francisco Chronicle is in big trouble. Apparently, Phil Bronstein, the editor-in-chief, told staff in a recent "emergency meeting" that the news business "is broken, and no one knows how to fix it." ("And if any other paper says they do, they're lying.") Reportedly, the paper plans to announce more layoffs before the year is out. It's clear that the news business as we knew it is in trouble. Bringing it home, Peter Lewis and Phil Elmer Dewitt, both well-known tech journalists, were both part of layoffs at Time...

In late November 2000, Phil Bronstein, the foreign correspondent who had risen to become editor of the scrappy San Francisco Examiner, was darting around town for interviews, giving a full-throated endorsement of the Hearst Corp.'s takeover of the much larger Chronicle. Many city residents expressed hope that the $660 million deal, in which the city's two dailies were set to merge, would finally deliver to San Francisco the high-quality newspaper it deserved. For 35 years, the papers had been locked lamely in a joint operating agreement, sharing business operations on Fifth and Mission streets in buildings literally joined at the...

Stars keep lining up for Proposition 87, a ballot measure that seeks to tax California's oil production to help finance alternative fuel development. The Yes on Prop. 87 campaign started airing a television commercial Monday featuring Bill Clinton that's cobbled together from a speech he gave at a rally in support of the initiative last week at UCLA. Clinton, a popular figure in heavily Democratic California, now joins a list of other big names who have come out in support of the measure. Actress Geena Davis appeared with Clinton at Friday's rally, and Julia Roberts stumped for the initiative at...

GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "something very special happened" in his third year in office. "We found the groove," he proclaimed during an interview with our editorial board last week. And Sacramento has been grooving with him. The just-completed legislative session represented one of the most productive in recent memory. The Republican governor and Democratic legislators worked together on essential long-term goals (upgrade our transportation systems and schools, help stop global warming) and short-term imperatives (raise the minimum wage, reform foster care, secure drug discounts for the uninsured) that will have an impact on Californians' lives. (snip) We have disagreed with...

In a relatively uneventful debate Saturday night with no clear winner, Phil Angelides, the state treasurer and underdog Democratic candidate for governor, may have come out ahead by simply sharing a stage with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "At least he'll be in the same news cycle (as Schwarzenegger),'' sighed one labor official who is supporting Angelides. Analysts noted Saturday that the debate may have marked one of Angelides' first -- and last -- chances to make an impression.

One of the most mindless laws approved was Assembly Bill 2108, by Sonoma County Democrat Noreen Evans. It requires parents to stick kids in automobile backseat booster seats until they turn age 8, or the kids grow to a specified height. This onerous law will cost parents millions of dollars, and save between zero and seven lives annually in California. Is that a typo? Is it possible that our full-time, "professional" Legislature approved a law forcing parents to spend millions of dollars, and preventing their small children from riding with their bigger kids in the front seat, all to save...

Barry Bonds dropped his lawsuit against two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who published a book claiming the San Francisco Giants slugger used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds requested that San Francisco County Superior Court dismiss the lawsuit June 2, according to court records reviewed by the San Jose Mercury News. The suit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning he retains the right to refile it. In March, Bonds sued Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, publisher Gotham books, the Chronicle and Sports Illustrated, which published an excerpt of the book, "Game of Shadows." Bonds' lawyers, suing under California's unfair...

by Mark Finkelstein December 13, 2005 - 06:31. Judging from this article by SF Chronicle staff writer's Leslie Fulbright, which Drudge posted, perhaps Tookie should have been canonized and supporters of the death penalty punished in his stead. The headline set the tone: "Tears, anger, silence at protesters' candlelight vigil; Speakers read from Williams' anti-gang children's books." The article depicted candle-holding Tookie supporters bravely fighting the cold and singing hymns along with Joan Baez. On the other side? A couple of shock jocks screaming 'kill Tookie', a professional pro-death penalty demonstrator, and a guy with a "Hang the Bastard" sign....

The San Francisco Chronicle featured this photograph on its front page in order to convey a positive message about the rally -- that politically aware teenagers were inspired to show up and rally for peace, sporting the message, "People of Color say 'No to War!'"

Finally, a major media personality has the guts to express what many in the US have long felt: Left Coast cities such as San Francisco are anti-American to the core. Bill O'Reilly, speaking of the Irrelevant City's hostility toward military recruiters, said on Tuesday's Radio Factor (transcript from the Political Teen): O’REILLY: You know, if I’m the president of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say, “Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you’re not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine....

Is the woman who single-handedly saved CNN's Headline News from oblivion also a major threat to the left? Judging by host Nancy Grace's recent press, it's clear that with ratings success, comes savage scrutiny from liberals. But is it fair? A new San Francisco Chronicle column, discussed below, is so vitriolic, it deserves special attention from conservatives. But first, how did she get to this point?

According to Sunday's S.F.Chronicle, House Democrats meet tomorrow with UC Berkeley linguistic prof George Lakoff in hopes the wordwright can correct their spin. Watch this one!!!! Lakoff is expected to advise the politician on what terminology to use. The big question is this: will the mass media follow? My money says it will. I have 40 years experience in the news media to back my bet. Need proof? The media was powerful enough to limit "choice" to one subject. That alone should be cause for watching the "watchdog." Remember when the press was called "the running dog" of the establishment?...

Did you ever think you would read these words in a San Francisco Chronicle column? A Latino attorney general? A black woman as secretary of state? Who would have imagined it 50 years ago--or even, more recently, say, during the Clinton administration? Give President Bush credit for breaking barriers that his Democratic predecessor never got around to. Just don't tell that to white liberals thrilled with the idea of minorities doing well--as long as liberals can claim credit. If they can't, or if the minorities happen to be conservative, things can get messy. The American people are about to get...

The release of the six-month circulation figures for U.S. daily newspapers showed big declines at Tribune Co.'s Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. The newspaper industry's twice-yearly circulation report showed modest circulation declines at many dailies, continuing a two-decade-long trend. The latest report, released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, is being studied especially closely by advertisers and Wall Street. It marks the first industry circulation data since several major newspapers reported overstatements this year, beginning with scandals in June at Tribune's Newsday and Spanish-language Hoy. Subsequently, Hollinger International Inc.'s Chicago Sun-Times and Belo Corp.'s Dallas Morning News also admitted...

GEORGE W. BUSH campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" and won the presidency by the narrowest of electoral margins. He promised to unify the nation after the most ferociously contested election in 124 years. But from the moment he took office, Bush showed neither compassion nor humility. He immediately began to govern as if he had a mandate to steer the country in a sharply rightward direction. The policies of the Bush presidency have only cemented the polarization in this country. It is time for a change of direction. [snip]

Subject: Copyright violations in re: SF Chronicle Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 14:15:25 -0800 (PST) From: John Angelico To: jimrob@psnw.com Dear freerepublic.com, It has come to our attention that you have copyrighted SF Chronicle and SF Gate articles posted within your Message Board area. Here's an example: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1091396/posts Our policy is to allow other sites to link to our site, but not to host our material. This policy ensures that our traffic numbers will be sufficient enough to maintain our free archives, which benefits everyone. Please remove these full text posts (or replace them w/ abstracts and links to...