Media Archives - San Francisco Public Press

A man and a woman sitting on either side of a small table in front of a fireplace speak into handheld microphones. A sign hanging over the fireplace reads "San Francisco Public Press."

“Civic” Podcast, From the Newsroom, Government & Politics, Media

Audience Trust Essential Amid Attacks on Media, DEI and Democracy, PBS Public Editor Says

by Lila LaHood May 14, 2025April 6, 2026

The San Francisco Public Press on April 30, 2025, hosted a fireside chat with Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, the public editor at PBS, and Lila LaHood, executive director of the Public Press, about recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, and threats to democracy and the media.

Sandoval-Palos and LaHood talked about what might happen if the federal government were to cut funding to PBS and NPR, which receive a portion of their budgets from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The next day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to do just that.

two men in a laboratory, one in a white lab coat and another in a gas mask and full-body hazard suit, posing in a black-and-white photo

Environment, From the Newsroom, Health, Media

Public Press Wins 2025 Izzy Award for Series Investigating Human Radiation Experimentation

by Michael Stoll April 8, 2025April 9, 2025

The San Francisco Public Press is proud to announce that our investigative series, “Exposed: The Human Radiation Experiments at Hunters Point,” has been honored with a 2025 Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media.

The Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College presents this prominent national award annually to spotlight exceptional work in journalism. Named for trailblazing investigative journalist I.F. Stone, who in 1953 launched a fiercely independent newsletter that exposed government deception, racism and McCarthyism, the Izzy Award honors muckraking produced outside traditional corporate media structures.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing glasses and a dark top types on a laptop in the foreground of a photo illustration with images of three other people and other images in the background, including one with text that reads "democracy depends on journalism." The name of the film appears in large red and white letters — "Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink" — with additional text below: "a film by two-time Acadamy Award-niminee Rick Goldsmith."

Economy & Business, From the Newsroom, Media

Film Screening: ‘Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink’

by Public Press staff February 20, 2025March 10, 2025

Join the San Francisco Public Press at the Roxie on March 13, for a special fundraising screening of “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink,” a documentary by two-time Academy Award-nominee Rick Goldsmith. Hedge fund Alden Global Capital is quietly gobbling up newspapers across the country and gutting them, but no one knows why — until journalist Julie Reynolds begins to investigate. Her findings trigger rebellions across the country by journalists working at Alden-owned newspapers. Backed by the NewsGuild union, the newsmen and women go toe-to-toe with their “vulture capitalist” owners in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism in America.

Government & Politics, Media, Open Government

Why Do Governments Keep Information From the Public? A Veteran Journalist Weighs In

by Public Press staff August 2, 2024September 10, 2024

Providing records and information to the public can be time consuming, expensive and legally risky, said award-winning journalist Miranda Spivack at a recent event hosted by the San Francisco Public Press.

The 102.5 FM transmitter antenna is located on the second level of Sutro Tower.

“Civic” Podcast, From the Newsroom, Media

San Francisco’s 102.5 FM Is Back on the Air

by Public Press staff July 15, 2022April 10, 2023

Nonprofit community radio stations KXSF-LP and KSFP-LP are broadcasting again on 102.5 FM from the second level of Sutro Tower in San Francisco. San Francisco Community Radio and the San Francisco Public Press each broadcast 12 hours a day on their shared frequency, which can be heard throughout the city.

Ricardo Sandoval-Palos is the public editor at PBS.

“Civic” Podcast, Media

PBS Public Editor Says Complaints Can Spark Community Conversations

by Lila LaHood June 10, 2022April 10, 2023

With the proliferation of social media channels, misinformation and disinformation now spread as fast as the click of a trackpad. Even for a trusted outlet like PBS — nationally recognized for its family friendly programming and sober, nonpartisan news coverage — this era has brought a flood of digital rumors to quell.

As the public editor at PBS, Ricardo Sandoval-Palos fields complaints for the organization and uses community feedback to cultivate conversations between viewers and PBS’s creative teams.

“Civic” Podcast, Elections, Government & Politics, Media, News

Ballotpedia Strives to Earn Voters’ Trust With Comprehensive Elections Guide

by Laura Wenus February 10, 2022April 10, 2023

Voters who feel confused or misled by the bombardment of political advertising that comes with every election season might seek out a neutral, straightforward explanation of a ballot measure or campaign. For many voters, that search leads to Ballotpedia. Though the site is exhaustive and may seem formulaic, its content is not automatically generated. Professional writers and editors carefully curate the material that lands in this elections encyclopedia, which covers everything from ballot measures to judges to redistricting.

“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, Community, LGBTQ+, Media

In ‘No Straight Lines,’ We Meet Groundbreaking Queer Comic Artists

by Laura Wenus June 11, 2021June 11, 2021

In the new documentary “No Straight Lines,” artists who took serious risks by outing themselves and creating comics about the experiences and lives of LGBT Americans look back on their work and its impacts. Director Vivian Kleiman, a Peabody Award winning filmmaker, producer, director and writer, talked with “Civic” about how these artists shaped the underground comics scene and some of the film’s more poignant moments.

Police form a line around a small group of protesters and one journalist held on the scene in what officers called a “mass arrest” on June 3, 2020.

“Civic” Podcast, California, Media, Open Government

After Journalist Arrests, State Legislation Aims to Protect Reporter Access to Protests

by Laura Wenus June 10, 2021June 10, 2021

Freedom of information advocates and journalists have criticized a number of instances in which law enforcement officers arrested, detained or even injured reporters at work covering protests in California. In response, state Sen. Mike McGuire authored SB 98, which aims to codify journalists’ right to access demonstrations.

“Civic” Podcast, Arts & Culture, HIV & AIDS, LGBTQ+, Media

The First Draft of 50 Years of LGBTQ History

by Mel Baker April 12, 2021April 15, 2021

The Bay Area Reporter distributed its first edition on April 1, 1971. While publisher Bob Aaron Ross may have chosen April Fool’s Day as a light-hearted start for the gay community’s latest bar “rag,” the newspaper would go on to do serious journalism, covering the major events of the post-Stonewall era.

Category: Media