From the Newsroom

Public Press coverage of Bay Area media meltdown featured on national #wjchat

06.25.2011
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This week’s #wjchat, a weekly chat for Web journalists on Twitter, was on a topic that is significant to journalists and nonjournalists alike: the future of journalism jobs.  
The chat was founded by Robert Hernandez, assistant professor of professional practice at the University of Southern California, Annenberg’s School for Communication and Journalism, and Kim Bui, social media and communication editor at KPCC 89.3-FM in Pasadena.  
According to the organizers, the focus for this week’s conversation was inspired by a series of articles on the Bay Area media landscape that was published by the San Francisco Public Press this spring.  
@wjchat This #wjchat we’re talking the future of journalism jobs – inspired by @sfpublicpress recent report: http://bit.ly/jvMQgK Send us Qs!  
The stories in the package include: a quantitative and qualitative analysis of how news organizations in the Bay Area are coping with smaller staff, the influence and emergence of thousands of new media startups in the area, and the impact of the shortage of ad-revenue on local broadcast journalists.

From the Newsroom

SF Public Press joins Reuters national nonprofit news distribution deal

05.26.2011
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The San Francisco Public Press will start distributing selected news stories through the Thompson Reuters newswire in a deal brokered by the Investigative News Network, the two organizations announced earlier this week. Articles will be distributed internationally and available to all of Reuters’ customers — news organizations that distribute in print, online and in broadcast media. 
The network, a consortium of more than 50 nonprofit news organizations, many of them startups, was founded last year in an effort to share news stories and operational resources to increase the reach of the journalism the organizations produce. They include the Center for Public Integrity, California Watch, MinnPost  and the St. Louis Beacon. Seven members are located in the Bay Area.

Labor
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Half of Bay Area newspaper jobs gone in last decade

05.23.2011
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MEDIA CENSUS: Newspapers hardest hit, losing nearly 4,000 workers
This article appeared as part of the Public Press’ Spring print edition media package of stories. 
State and federal labor statistics show that employment among Bay Area media workers fell 43 percent since 2001, a result of massive restructuring at local news outlets whose financial losses measured in the billions of dollars. Newspapers were hit the hardest, shedding upwards of 4,000 employees. As dozens of papers merged in an effort to cut costs, reporters who used to compete for scoops found their jobs redundant. While employment appears to have risen in the television and radio sector over all, journalists among them did not fare so well, state employment data suggest.

From the Newsroom

Pictures from the spring edition launch party 5/12/11

05.16.2011
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Thanks to everyone who turned out last Thursday night for the launch party for the spring edition of the San Francisco Public Press. We rocked the basement art space of the new location of the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts at 998 Market Street, full of interactive art. Thanks to Kristine Magnuson for the awesome photos. Reporter Jerold Chinn and grants manager Theresa Seiger play interactive art installations. 

Reporter Angela Hart and News Editor Rich Pestorich represent. Danielle Craig, former Public Press News Editor Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig and Executive Director Michael Stoll hamming it up.

From the Newsroom

The news, old and new, is our theme in the Public Press third print edition

05.11.2011
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Today we are proud to announce the publication of Issue No. 3 of the San Francisco Public Press — still in glorious full-color broadsheet.  
The special section in the issue: a team project on the fall and possible rebirth of Bay Area news media. Jeremy Adam Smith reports on how half of Bay Area newspaper jobs evaporated on the last decade, while David Weir delves into some of the more than 5,000 San Francisco-based new media startups. The media project took a team of eight people months to report. It grew out of the work we did this winter to help produce the Bay Area Journalist Census for NOVA, a workforce development agency in Sunnyvale.

From the Newsroom

Treasure Island report-back live: audio of panel discussion with Public Press and Shareable.net

09.23.2010
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On Monday, the San Francisco Public Press and Shareable.net co-hosted a panel discussion at the Hub SoMa on our reporting about the massive planned redevelopment of Treasure Island. We plan to do more of these events discussing public policy. These gatherings are open to the public and free to members. The report-back capped a package of articles looking at the island and its political, financial and environmental challenges in depth. The stories appeared online and in the summer 2010 print pilot edition of the San Francisco Public Press. [Audio of the event 9/20/10: Treasure Island development panel discussion on SoundCloud (sfpublicpress).]
Participants:

Jeremy Adam Smith, consulting editor, Shareable.net (front in photo)
Christopher D. Cook
Alison Hawkes (photo)
Bernice Yeung (photo)
Victoria Schlesinger

For our summer print pilot newspaper, seven reporters, one photographer and a graphic artist produced an eight-page section on Treasure Island. They interviewed the developers, city officials and architects, and pored over documents about the financing, development and environmental remediation.

From the Newsroom

KALW News ‘great pledge smackdown’ (oh my!)

09.09.2010
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A note from our friends at KALW News:
KALW’s Crosscurrents is hosting the “great pledge smackdown” beginning on Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. on 91.7 F
We are outsourcing our membership drive and pitting two celebrity guests against each other to see who can get the most listeners to become members. In one corner, the venerable Bob Edwards, pioneer of public radio, the voice of NPR’s Morning Edition for 24 years. He faces off against the upstart Glynn Washington, winner of the Public Radio Talent Quest and host of NPR’s Snap Judgement. Glynn says he plans to kick Bob Edwards’ ass. He knows he’s the underdog in this epic battle, but he’s fearless: “Goliath betta watch his back, cause they call me the Giantslayer!

From the Newsroom

The Evolving Landscape of Local Journalism: A Community Panel Discussion at the Booksmith

08.06.2010
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Join us for a lively discussion Monday night at the Booksmith in the Upper Haight to wrestle with the question of how new and experimental local news projects can reach audiences and achieve economic sustainability. The announcement:
What: The Evolving Landscape of Local Journalism: A Community Panel Discussion
When: Monday, August 9, 2010 7:30 PM
Where: Booksmith
1644 Haight Street 
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 863-8688

It’s an exciting time in the landscape of San Francisco journalism as we see tectonic changes take place before our eyes. There have recently been some enticing examples of citizen-funded journalism, including quality investigative reports on the over-budget Bay Bridge project and the proposed development of Treasure Island. This evening we bring some key players in public-interest reporting to The Booksmith to discuss the emerging models which will compete and compliment the incumbents bringing us Bay Area news. Lisa Frazier is the President and CEO of The Bay Citizen.

From the Newsroom

Radio interview: San Francisco Public Press in big print

06.11.2010
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“Media Minutes,” a national radio program from the nonprofit media policy group Free Press, aired a show June 11 that included an interview with Lila LaHood, director of operations and development at the Public Press, about the upcoming print pilot edition launch. Below is a transcript of the program:

click here to download
The San Francisco Public Press is a nonprofit news organization that publishes public interest reporting with the help of more than 50 professional and volunteer journalists and other nonprofit groups. Online since 2007, the San Francisco Public Press is about to launch a pilot print edition. In an era where other newspapers are shrinking in size, the Public Press print edition will be big – 22 x 14 inches – with 28 full-size broadsheet pages, mostly in color, filled with news and features, but with no paid advertising. Lila LaHood is the Director of Operations for the Public Press, which relies on support from foundations and individual donors. Lila LaHood: We’re trying to do public interest, civic affairs journalism. Some local culture as well.

From the Newsroom

Christopher Cook on KALW’s “Crosscurrents Radio”

04.14.2010
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Tune to KALW’s "Crosscurrents Radio" today at 5 p.m. to hear Christopher Cook and KALW News Director Holly Kernan discuss his recent coverage of the trial between the Service Employees International Union and the National Union of Healthcare Workers, a rival union created by former SEIU staffers. They will talk about the meaning, importance and drama of this major labor trial, explore the larger battle within SEIU over leadership and direction, and consider a possible silver lining in an often ugly fight. Listen to the broadcast on KALW at 91.7 FM or streaming online, or find the podcast here once the program has aired. Read Cook’s coverage of the trial: Rival union vows fight after SEIU wins $1.5 million verdict
Support this reporting by making a contribution via Spot.us.