Posted on 01/24/2021 8:43:06 AM PST by Libloather
Politico on Friday broke the news that our newspaper of record has opted to jettison “freelance columnist” Willie Brown at month’s end, putting a belated conclusion on an inexcusable and, frankly, inconceivable situation.
And it only lasted 12 years. Less time than the Central Subway project or Geary BRT - but an embarrassingly long stretch for something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Brown, former mayor and Assembly speaker, and still very much a mover and shaker, high-level information peddler, and registered and unregistered lobbyist in this town, should never have had a column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Or any newspaper.
**SNIP**
With Brown, you’d do well to assume there’s a well thought-out underlying motivation or rationale for his actions, even if it’s not apparent. If his editors thought they could stay a step ahead of him - good luck with that. Attempting to match wits with Brown is a bit like attempting to play drinking games with the U.S. Ski Team: You will lose.
So it was also never clear if Chronicle higher-ups understood that Brown - and others - were essentially running a PR firm from within the pages of the newspaper.
Plenty of writers - and editors - understood this. That’s why, when a new editor-in-chief last year took over the paper and asked employees during one-on-one meetings what they’d like to see changed, many made it damn clear where to start.
(Excerpt) Read more at missionlocal.org ...
ALL the Bay Area “newspapers” are like that.
Every weekly handout, tabloid, whatever...the local pols get a column. As long as they’re Rats. Never seen a Republican doing one.
And they are recurring: no “guest” editorial crap. Nonstop, never ending Rat spewing party line propaganda.
The idea that the Chronicle is some kind of bastion of journalistic integrity and excellence that was sullied by the presence of Willie Brown’s column is absurdly laughable. I get the paper for the obits, local sports and an occasionally interesting story from Carl Nolte or the guy who writes the Portals of the Past columns. Overall, though, the Chron has been a thin, boring, biased left-wing propaganda rag since at least the time of its sale by the DeYoung heirs to the Hearst Company. Brown’s Sunday column was actually one of the few interesting reads. His gossip was occasionally interesting and he was unafraid of expressing contrarian opinions on the issues of the day. Everyone knows the man is a shill, but so what? He’s a career politicians
Riding the Muni. Herb Caens colums was always the perfect fold and read while standing up. 1978 2 election propositions: One would legalize greyhound dog racing and another had to do with Mexican farm workers. He suggested combining the 2 and racing Mexicans. Real funny watching him and the paper squirm.
Intelligence can be similar to electricity, meaning that the end use determines if this was for good or for evil.
Said another way, if Willie Brown had been born in a later era, and had slightly different professional goals, it could have been him being named as Vice President of the United States of America, vs Kamala Harris.
Even more the point, he could have made it happen with far less Voter Fraud, harvesting and manipulation than what turned out to be needed. Willie is a sneaky, openly racist, self centered politician, bordering on meglomania at times, but no one ever said he was stupid.
I have met Willie, and he will not let the Gay Rhonicle silence him re Joe's Hoe.
This will become obvious in months to come!
Plenty of writers - and editors - understood this. That’s why, when a new editor-in-chief last year took over the paper and asked employees during one-on-one meetings what they’d like to see changed, many made it damn clear where to start.
“Riding the Muni. Herb Caens ...
Do you remember a San Francisco columnist, in referring to the newly constructed Vaillancourt Fountain, say that when the next earthquake occurred it would turn into a building.
Those of you that don’t understand the humor there, look up a picture of it.
The most infamous pay-to-play politician in state history and “San Francisco’s legendary Juice Mayor” should never have been allowed to casually write his own unchallenged history of this city.
He should not have been allowed to soft-pedal government officials’ rank dishonesty and billion-dollar lowballing schemes as just one of those things. He should never have been allowed to gleefully plug his clients and/or private businesses and/or political creations and savage their competitors. He should not have been allowed to issue coded advice or threats to members of the political class via a column in the newspaper.
He should never have been allowed to elude Chronicle reporters Monday through Saturday before generating his own take on the issues for Sunday — and write articles that must have induced pinball machine noises in Chronicle staffers’ heads as they checked off violation after violation of the paper’s ethics code.
A real paper would have caught this sooner.
Sad. Willie Brown’s column was the best thing in the Chronicle since Herb Caen died.
bump
The idea that the Chronicle is some kind of bastion of journalistic integrity and excellence
The Sports section was on green paper. They ditched that for a while but partially it brought it back... the first/outer sports page is green while the rest of it is regular fishwrap.
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