Newsom –Chronicle Relations Have Frayed

Although many were on vacation in August’s last week, the San Francisco Chronicle’s August 28 editorial was the talk of the town. This was the piece where Mayor Newsom was described as “missing in action,” and accused of doing little more than “offering a quick comment” in response to alleged city problems.

The specific areas where Newsom was charged with falling short---MUNI, taxi service, and DBI---revealed much about the Chronicle’s agenda. MUNI is the only one of these topics that generates concern among voters, while the editorial made no mention of questions over the mayor’s response to the homicide spree in the Bayview, Western Addition and Mission Districts.

In other words, the Chronicle acted like a small dog nipping at the heels of its master to get attention. A bite would really hurt, but a nip is enough to remind the owner that the dog must be fed.

In the days of Mayor Feinstein, the local media and the Mayor frequently played a dance around the Chronicle’s criticism. The paper would criticize the mayor in the morning, and then lavishly praise her---both in news stories and an accompanying editorial--- for stepping in and solving the problem the next day.

Feinstein’s successor, Art Agnos, thought he would get the same Chronicle treatment. But Agnos soon learned that while the paper would criticize him, his actions would not generate praise in either the news or editorial sections.

More
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3664#more