Media

Bay Area News Project editor promises media renaissance

Delaney Kennedy, SF Public Press — Feb 26 2010 - 9:18am

Jonathan Weber, the new editor for the Bay Area News Project, reveals project details to an audience of more than 100 journalists at the World Affairs
Council in San Francisco. Weber said -- unlike most media outlets -- that he's hiring. He presented a contrarian point of view on modern media, saying that technology heralds the rebirth, of journalism, not its death.

Death of bilingual newspaper leaves void in Japanese American community

Conor Gallagher, SF Public Press — Dec 14 2009 - 4:05pm

One of the last bilingual Japanese-English newspapers in San Francisco has ceased its print publication and will likely end its Internet edition in the near future, leaving Japantown residents disappointed and searching for new sources of information.

Hellman's new nonprofit newsroom sparks hope

Kevin Stark, The Public Press — Sep 24 2009 - 6:25pm

Warren Hellman, a San Francisco financier, had planned to announce his intention to launch a well funded nonprofit Bay Area news organization — until someone else broke the news.

Hellman and partners to launch Bay Area newsroom

Steve Jones, San Francisco Bay Guardian — Sep 24 2009 - 2:09pm

San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco financier Warren Hellman – in partnership with KQED, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and perhaps even the New York Times – is about to launch a nonprofit, locally focused, online news organization with a medium-sized newsroom of full-time journalists, Hellman has confirmed to the Guardian.

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival screening sparks soul searching within community

Patricia Decker, The Public Press — Aug 5 2009 - 12:12pm

When the audience shuffled out of the Castro Theatre and the protesters headed home, the polarizing debate surrounding the July 25 screening of "Rachel” at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival was not over.

Rather than argue about the appropriateness of the film at the festival, which ends Aug. 10, the Bay Area Jewish community is engaged in another soul-wrenching internal conversation.

Controversial documentary roils SF Jewish Film Festival

Patricia Decker, The Public Press — Jul 23 2009 - 6:23pm

A film about the death of American activist Rachel Corrie is causing a stir at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which began Thursday.

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival opened its 29th season Thursday night amid controversy surrounding one of its 71 films, which has the Jewish community up in arms.

Simone Bitton’s film “Rachel” is a documentary about the controversial death of 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie in 2003. Corrie was volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank when an Israeli army bulldozer crushed her during the demolition of Palestinian homes.

What kindled the criticism from the Jewish community was the invitation of Corrie’s mother, Cindy Corrie, to speak after the Saturday afternoon screening at the Castro Theatre.

Supervisors save public access TV channels for one more year

Anna Walters, The Public Press — Jun 10 2009 - 10:29am

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors temporarily rescued public access television from the brink of extinction Tuesday, passing an ordinance that reimposes a city franchise fee on Comcast and other cable operators.

Who reads the newspaper: You'd be surprised

Bethany Fleishman, The Public Press — May 12 2009 - 4:19pm

Recent layoffs at the San Francisco Chronicle inched it one step closer to saving itself, some would say. However, critics say the financial move is only prolonging the inevitable.

The Chronicle’s woes come on the heels of papers in several major U.S. cities making the move to online only publication, declaring bankruptcy or being sold.

The ever-changing newspaper industry has many local residents, young and old, talking about the future and the “good ole’ days” while debating whether or not the Chronicle should further take advantage of its online component – SF Gate – versus a daily, hard copy edition.

Old-school band first to 'Tweet-cast' a show

Audrey Wong, The Public Press — Apr 5 2009 - 12:42pm

Anyone who attended the self-titled CD release party of Moonalice at Slim’s Friday night would agree the band evoked the 1960s during their performance.

However, the band also mixed in a little 2009 when it incorporated a taste of social media into its lineup. Fans unable to attend the April 3 event were able to follow the show in real time using Twitter in what was billed as the first-ever "Tweet-cast" concert.

Guest opinion: Will we miss the Chronicle?

Gray Brechin, The Public Press — Mar 24 2009 - 12:41pm

We seldom think of oxygen unless it’s absent. You’d think about it a lot if it suddenly exited this room; you’d start gasping and writhing, your eardrums would burst, you and your neighbors would do a lot of bleeding on each other, then you’d die. But if we gradually replaced oxygen with nitrous oxide mixed with just a soupcon of cyanide gas, you might not notice that anything was missing at all; you might feel very content as your brain and body gradually turned off and you lapsed into a sleep without end. I’ve frequently criticized the Chronicle for just that — for its lack of the kind of mental oxygen that makes for a healthy democratic polity.