Chronicle's wounds are self-inflicted
San Francisco Business Times - June 8, 2007
by Arthur Bruzzone
The San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News have announced 25 percent cuts in their writing staffs. The San Francisco Chronicle has suffered the most -- about a $25 million loss in just the first four months of 2007. That's $1 million a week piled on to $330 million that the paper has lost since Hearst Corp. bought it for $600 million in 2000.
Industry trends explain the losses, in part. The San Francisco Chronicle has a deeper problem: A serious case of evangelical political correctness, or the need to be "progressive." The ink-and-paper Chronicle has been hammering readers for years now with their version of what's news. In their choice of stories, editorialized reporting, headlines, layout, six-part series, commentators and editorials they've slipped into interpreting, not reporting the news. What's worse, the Chronicle's one-sided news and reports are available for free online.
It was doomed from the start. Online journals, blogs and forums do a better job of presenting biased news. They do it not just daily, but hourly. At the same time, specialized journals, in print and online, do a better job of reporting actual news.
A good business weekly connects, reports, lists, and features the region's industries. The writing is brisk and upbeat. The reader interprets the big picture. The Chronicle's business section, instead, has deteriorated to about four or five business stories a day, hardly a picture of the exciting Bay Area economy. For the Chronicle, reporting business news is an aside. They've been more interested in leading a social revolution and opposing Republican administrations.
No surprise there. Big city reporters are predominantly liberal (65 percent), voted for Democrats (90 percent), and are either atheist or agnostic (45 percent), according to a study by S. Robert Lichter and Stanley Rothman. A Los Angeles Times study of 3,000 journalists at 621 newspapers confirmed these stats.
Here's the challenge of the Chronicle, L.A. Times and Mercury News: Define your regions. Twenty-four hour cable news channels handle national and international news and events. For the Chronicle, cover the news that matters to the 7 million Bay Area residents. That's an information niche not filled. The Chron claims to be a regional paper -- so go out and do it. Find the regional news and weave it into a meaningful picture. I might even re-subscribe if the paper headed in that direction.
As for the Chronicle's opinions, leave them on the opinion page where they belong.
Arthur Bruzzone is president of BSI Capital and hosts Comcast's weekly "San Francisco/unscripted."
