New leader for group that includes the Examiner, SF Weekly, Guardian

Zuehl

Glenn Zuehls, an executive who has worked in print media for more than two decades, has been named the publisher of the San Francisco Media Co., which produces The San Francisco Examiner, SF Weekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

He replaces Todd Vogt, who announced to the company’s staff in May that he was heavily leaning toward selling his share of the company to his partners, Oahu Publications Inc.

“Vogt told the gathered throng that he's arrived at a fork in the road in his relationship with the Hawaiian outfit: Either he must sell his shares in the media conglomerate to them, or -- with the aid of as-yet non-existent partners -- he'll buy them out,” the SF Weekly reported May 6. “He informed the newsroom he's highly likely to cash out come May 30. Vogt reiterated to SF Weekly moments ago that's still the case.”

The story the Examiner posted about Zuehls’ appointment made no mention of Vogt.

Dennis Francis, president of Oahu Publications, the parent company for the San Francisco Media Co. and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, announced Zuehl’s appointment on July 2, a day after the three papers moved into new offices at 835 Market St. 

The Examiner said Zuehl played an instrumental role in the 2010 merging of Hawaii's two primary papers, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser. In an era when newspapers were declining in production, the Star-Advertiser has since increased newsroom staff and circulation, the Examiner said. Zuehls said he will focus on strengthening advertising for the San Francisco Media Co.'s three papers.

Examiner names new editor, managing editor

The San Francisco Examiner has promoted Mike Billings to the job of editor-in-chief and Max DeNike as managing editor, according to the paper's website. Billings has worked at The S.F. Examiner since 2006 as a page designer, city editor and online editor. He most recently was an assistant managing editor. Before The San Francisco Examiner, he worked at the Palo Alto Daily News as a copy editor and page designer. DeNike has worked at The San Francisco Examiner since 2007 as a copy editor and night editor. He most recently was the city editor. He came to the paper from the Santa Cruz Sentinel, where he was a copy editor and reporter. Billings replaces Stephen Buel, who is resigning after purchasing a number of East Bay magazines.

Examiner sues Chronicle, alleging anticompetitive ad-pricing scheme

The parent company of the San Francisco Examiner, SF Weekly and Bay Guardian filed a lawsuit today (June 25) alleging the Chronicle slashed advertising prices to stifle competition, according to a report in the Examiner.

The suit says Chronicle owner Hearst Corp. took advantage of greater corporate resources to offer discounts to Examiner advertisers if they would quit advertising in the Ex and buy ads in the Chronicle instead. In one such instance, the suit says the Chronicle threw in $200,000 worth of free ad space in a deal with an advertiser.

The California Unfair Practices Act prohibits a business from selling goods or advertising below cost in an attempt to harm a competitor.

In 2007, the Bay Guardian, when it was owned by Bruce Brugmann, successfully sued the SF Weekly for violating the same law. After a trial, the Guardian ultimately was awarded $21 million with interest — though later accepted a much smaller, undisclosed settlement.

Ironically, both the Weekly and Guardian were subsequently acquired by the Examiner's owner, the San Francisco Newspaper Company, headed by Todd Vogt.

The Examiner's lead counsel in this suit is Ralph Alldredge, who represented the Guardian in its lawsuit.

Brugmann sells building and newspaper

Bruce Brugmann has agreed to sell the Bay Guardian, the longtime progressive weekly, to the new owners of the Examiner for an undisclosed price, according to a report by the Chron’s Andrew S. Ross. The transaction will close next month.

Brugmann

The deal, which had been rumored for weeks, was announced after Brugmann sold the Guardian’s 27,000-square-foot building at 135 Mississippi St. for $6.5 million, according to a report by J.K. Dineen of the San Francisco Business Times.

The sale price is 28% higher than the $4.7 million Brugmann paid for the building a decade ago, Dineen pointed out.

Brugmann said the time has come to “turn things over to the next generation … I’m going to be 77 on June 14, and Jean (Dibble, his wife) and I have been doing this for 45 years.”

“It's not an easy thing to do, but it made sense economically, and it made sense to Jean and me,” said Brugmann. “It's the best way to keep the Guardian intact, and hopefully keep it alive for another generation.”

Todd Vogt, the Examiner’s president and publisher, said the editorial departments of the Examiner and Guardian will remain separate. Tim Redmond, a 30-year veteran of the Guardian, will remain. His title will be editor and publisher.

“We have no intention of changing the editorial voice of the Guardian. If anything, a refreshed progressive voice is needed in the city,” Vogt told the Chron.

Why the Examiner wants the Bay Guardian

Robert Gammon of the East Bay Express says that some people might be surprised that the Examiner, with its conservative reputation, would be buying the liberal Bay Guardian. Under owner Phil Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire oilman and real estate mogul, the Examiner became a conservative newspaper in a staunchly liberal city. For instance, the Examiner put its endorsement of McCain and Palin on its cover. 

But Gammon points out that the Examiner's new owners, a group that includes Canadian community newspaper publisher David Black, have shifted the paper's editorial page to the left of the Chronicle though not as far left as the Guardian.

The reason the Examiner would want the Guardian, however, is the business side of the transaction, Gammon says. The two papers could cut costs by combining their circulation and advertising departments, and by borrowing content from one another.

Gammon notes that the Guardian has been losing money for years, but it's also believed that the Examiner was subsidized by Anschutz's paycheck. The challenge for Examiner President and CEO Todd Vogt is to strengthen his paper, and perhaps buying the Guardian will help. Vogt along with David Black and Examiner chief financial officer Pat Brown are among the investors who own the Examiner. A previous posting on the Press Club website incorrectly suggested Black Press was the owner.

Examiner to buy the Guardian? Not yet

There are conflicting reports tonight (April 19) on whether the new owners of the Examiner have bought, or are in the process of buying, the Bay Guardian alternative weekly owned by Bruce Brugmann and his wife Jean.

Rachel Swan of the East Bay Express reported this afternoon that the sale had been finalized, attributing the information to two sources. Later, the Express quoted Guardian Executive Editor Tim Redmond as saying that the deal wasn't final but that he was "very optimistic." Then the SF Weekly got a hold of Examiner President and CEO Todd Vogt, who said:

"Huh. That's very optimistic on their behalf ... I've met Bruce Brugmann twice in my life. When I heard he might be interested in selling, that was one of the two times. 

"We haven't bought anything ... For the record, we believe in newspapers. If anything is for sale, we'd be bidders on it. If Bruce and Jean are gonna sell, we'd be interested."

The SF Weekly said the Guardian has been on the block for around two months at a price of $1 million.

It's no secret that the Examiner has been looking for newspapers to buy. Last month, the Press Club reported that the Examiner got into a bidding war for the Tracy Press, Scotts Valley Press-Banner and Patterson Irrigator, which were eventually bought by H. Lee Wilcox of San Angelo, Texas, for $1.25 million.

The Examiner was purchased last November by a group that includes David Black of Black Press, a Canadian firm that owns more than 170 community papers in Vancouver and northern Washington state as well as the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star Advertiser in the U.S. Other investors include Examiner President and CEO Todd Vogt and chief financial officer Pat Brown.

Correction: A previous version of this item incorrectly described the ownership of the Examiner. It has been corrected above.

Bidding war erupts for 3 weekly newspapers

A Texas media investor had to raise his offer for the Tracy Press, Patterson Irrigator and Scotts Valley Press-Banner after the San Francisco Examiner outbid his original offer for the three weekly newspapers.

The papers, owned by the family of Bob Matthews, were eventually sold through bankruptcy court proceedings to H. Lee Wilcox of San Angelo, Texas, for $1.25 million. The Tracy Press reports that a bankruptcy judge in Sacramento approved the sale on Wednesday.

Wilcox had originally agreed to buy the three newspapers from the Matthews family of Tracy for a total price of $1.01 million. Wednesday’s hearing was held to determine if the bid was adequate and if any other bids would be submitted.

After representatives of San Francisco Examiner topped Wilcox’s original bid in court Wednesday, Judge Christopher M. Klein opened back-and-forth bidding, which concluded with Wilcox prevailing.

The San Francisco Examiner was purchased last year by a group that includes David Black, who heads Black Press, a Canadian firm that owns more than 170 community papers in Vancouver and northern Washington state as well as the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star Advertiser in the U.S. The Examiner owners also include Todd Vogt, who serves as president and CEO, and Pat Brown, the company's CFO.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described the ownership of the Examiner. This item has since been corrected.

Stephen Buel to lead Examiner newsroom

Buel

Stephen Buel, former editor of the East Bay Express, has been named editor of the San Francisco Examiner, replacing Deirdre Hussey, who resigned. Buel has served as city editor of the Examiner since January 2011. He headed the East Bay Express for nine years and was a Mercury News reporter before that. Earlier in his career, he was at the Arkansas Democrat, where he covered Gov. Bill Clinton and other topics.

Hussey out as editor of the Examiner

Hussey

Deirdre Hussey is no longer editor of The Examiner as a new owner makes changes at the free daily.

"Her institutional knowledge will be missed, but I think a fresh start and some fresh ideas in the Editor-in-Chief chair will be good," Examiner President and Publisher Todd Vogt told the SF Weekly. "Everyone is personally sorry to see her go, but professionally, everyone agrees a change is welcomed," he said.

Vogt said that after speaking to Hussey on Wednesday, the two decided to part ways effective immediately and she received “a nice severance,” according to the SF Weekly.

The Examiner hasn’t named Hussey’s replacement. In fact, the staff box in today’s (Feb. 3) edition still lists her as editor-in-chief.

Hussey was promoted to editor-in-chief in July 2010, succeeding Jim Pimentel. Hussey joined the Examiner in 2002 and and was north San Mateo County editor, city editor and assistant managing editor before being appointed managing editor in 2007.

New Examiner owner lays off 7 news staffers

The new owner of the Examiner has laid off at least seven newsroom employees, and possibly more, the SFWeekly reports. Most of the layoffs were copy editors. The ax fell on Tuesday.

Todd Vogt, the new publisher and president of the Examiner, confirmed to both the SF Weekly and Chronicle that there had been layoffs, but wouldn't say how many.

The layoffs weren't a surprise since the new owner had indicated cuts would be made after the sale closed on Nov. 30.

Correction: A previous version of this item incorrectly described the ownership of the Examiner. The paper is owned by a group that includes Canadian publisher David Black, Todd Vogt and Examiner CFO Pat Brown.

Examiner sold to group that includes Canadian publisher

Billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz has agreed to sell the San Francisco Examiner to an investor group that includes the owner of Black Press, a Canadian firm that owns more than 170 community papers in Vancouver and northern Washington state as well as the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star Advertiser in the U.S.

Black Press also has a stake in the private equity group that bought the San Diego Union Tribune from the Copley family in 2009.

The company is headed by David H. Black (no relation to disgraced Canadian publishing mogul Conrad Black), who has been looking for newspapers to buy, now that their prices have declined.

"Black has a reputation for operating leanly but with some imagination and business flair," said the Poynter Institute's Rick Edmonds in this piece about the sale of the Union Tribune.

In 2008, the Examiner
put its endorsement of
John McCain and Sarah
Palin on its cover

"I sat at the same table as Black during the luncheon where Hillary Clinton spoke at last year’s Newspaper Association of America convention, awkwardly overhearing a business conversation with a colleague before I realized who he was," Edmonds wrote. "The talk confirmed what I had heard secondhand — that Black was an optimist about the business and a potential buyer when many were bailing out."

The Examiner was founded in 1863 as the Democratic Press, a pro-slavery paper that opposed Abraham Lincoln. Its offices were burned down two years later and the paper resumed publishing as the Daily Examiner.

According to legend, mining engineer and entrepreneur George Hearst acquired the Examiner in 1880 as partial payment of a poker debt. When he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he turned the money-losing paper over to his son, William Randolph Hearst, who went on to build a newspaper empire with the Examiner as its flagship. Among the writers whose bylines appeared in the paper were Jack London and Mark Twain.

Fast forward to the 1950s. At the start of the decade, San Francisco had four daily newspapers. Within a few years though, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin would merge with Scipps-Howard's San Francisco News, becoming the News-Call Bulletin. Then, in 1965, the News-Call Bulletin merged with the Examiner.

At that point, the Examiner and Chronicle entered into a joint operating agreement in which the two would share the same advertising staff and presses but operate separate newsrooms. The Chronicle would continue to print in the mornings, Monday-Saturday. The Examiner remained an afternoon paper. On Sundays, two papers put out one edition, with the news sections being produced by the Examiner and the feature pages by the Chronicle.

That arrangement lasted until 2000 when Hearst bought the Chronicle for a reported $660 million and was forced by the U.S. Justice Department's Antitrust Division to sell the Examiner to the politically connected Fang family, then publishers of the Independent newspapers in San Francisco and San Mateo County. Hearst was also forced to pay the Fangs a subsidy of $66 million.

Paid circulation dropped and in 2003, the Examiner became a free daily and switched from a broadsheet to tabloid. A year later, the Fang family sold the Examiner and its printing plant to Anschutz. He brought a conservative voice to San Francisco media, going as far as to endorse John McCain and Sarah Palin on the front page.

Anschutz's newspaper company, Clarity Media, used the Examiner name to start similar papers in Baltimore (which closed in 2009) and Washington, D.C. The Examiner name is also used on the company's national website, which has thousands of bloggers who are paid based on the number of pageviews their stories get.

In September, Anschutz bought the daily paper in Oklahoma City. With that acquisition and Clarity's Washington Examiner, it was "clear that owning a single newspaper asset on the West Coast was no longer consistent with our evolving business plan," said Clarity CEO Ryan McKibben in a statement yesterday.

The deal is expected to close on Nov. 30. The sale price hasn't been disclosed, and may not become public since both the buyer and seller are privately held.

The group buying the Examiner includes David Black, Todd Vogt and Pat Brown. Vogt will be President and CEO while Brown will be chief financial officer.

Correction: An earlier version of this posting incorrectly said that Black Press was buying the Examiner. Actually, it is the investor group described in the previous paragraph.

SF Weekly accuses Examiner of sexist hiring

Melissa Griffin's
column photo

According to the SF Weekly’s Erin Sherbert, only eight of the 35 newsroom workers at the Examiner are women — way below the average of 35% women in newsrooms nationally, according to the American Society of News Editors.

What’s more, Sherbert says the last nine people hired in the Ex newsroom have been white men.

The Ex, owned by billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz of Denver, has only one female columnist, Melissa Griffin. But the Ex uses a full-body photo of her to accompany her column while the male columnists only get head shots.

One of the Ex's eight women is executive editor Deirdre Hussey, who didn’t respond to Sherbert’s questions. Sherbert pointed out that she used to work in the Ex newsroom, and it was a male dominated place back then, too.

Ex-East Bay Express editor joins Examiner

Stephen Buel, who was ousted as editor of the East Bay Express last month, has joined the Examiner as assistant city editor, according to the SF Weekly's Joe Eskenazi. Buel, who had led the newsroom of the East Bay alt-weekly for a decade and was a 13% owner, was let go in a dispute with the paper's majority owner, Jay Youngdahl. Buel will serve under newly hired assistant managing editor Will Harper, a former East Bay Express writer and columnist. Oddly enough, in those days Buel was Harper's boss. Buel replaces Julie Bunim, who left the Examiner in November.

Newspaper owner doesn't talk to reporters

Anschutz

Billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz is the owner of the San Francisco Examiner, but if you're a reporter, don't expect him to return your calls.

Forbes — a financial publication which has a conservative, pro-business philosophy Anschutz would probably like — did a major profile of the Denver billionaire, but he wouldn't sit down for an interview. Writes Christopher Helman:

Why the anonymity? Not because he's a paranoid, germo phobic recluse like Howard Hughes. Anschutz isn't hiding from anyone; he makes his lieutenants available to reporters. 

... Anschutz's spokesman defends his allergic reaction to publicity: If the guy gave one interview, the requests would never let up. His associates cite the boss' midwestern roots. Growing up in Kansas, he was taught to embrace humility and privacy and to shun self-aggrandizement. He buys off the rack from Joseph A. Bank and wears a Timex; he buys used cars and was once seen driving to a black-tie event in a rented Ford Taurus. 

"He has no ego," says Tim Leiweke, chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group. "He is the anti-Donald Trump."

Will Harper jumps from SF Weekly to Examiner

The SF Weekly is looking for a new managing editor (craigslist ad and company posting) after Will Harper decided to take the No. 2 position in the San Francisco Examiner newsroom, the SF Appeal reports. He starts in mid-December and will be in charge of all local reporting.

Before joining the SF Weekly in 2007, Harper was at the East Bay Express, Metro in San Jose and Berkeley Voice. Here's his autobio from 2007.

Harper will report to executive editor Deirdre Hussey, who was promoted to the top spot after in July after the resignation of editor James Pimentel to take a job with parent company Clarity Media.

Examiner.com blogger guilty of harassment

Schisler's Examiner.com bio

One of the free-lancers who writes for Examiner.com was found guilty Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court of misdemeanor harassment and violating a court order.

Kent Schisler, 65, has been sending e-mails to Wells Fargo executives over a dispute alleging the bank defrauded his wife's business out of nearly $1 million. Court records show he has been sending letters and e-mails to now retired CEO Richard Kovacevich for 10 years.

This year, Schisler turned his wrath on Kovacevich's Todd by sending him e-mails to his work place, according to prosecutors. Todd Kovacevich obtained a court order requiring Schisler to stay away from his Hillsborough home. Schisler was charged after he showed up at Kovacevich's door step with several letters regarding the dispute.

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes on Monday morning before coming back with its guilty verdict on all the charges, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Judge Joseph Bergeron sentenced Schisler immediately to two years probation, a $250 fine and a day in county jail, said Wagstaffe. Bergeron also ordered Schisler to stay away from the Kovacevichs.

At Examiner.com, Schisler is the "SF Government Examiner," and he wrote about his experience in court last week in a posting titled, "San Francisco area SUPERIOR court trial, regarding WELLS FARGO illegal banking's victim, & his wife." Another post is titled "Government, big banks and politicians create evil webs."

Examiner: Don't call us a 'content farm'

Examiner.com, which has a reported 55,000 contributors nationwide, is not a "content farm" like Demand or Associated Content, executives of the site told PBS MediaShift's Mark Glaser. They also tell Glaser that the online Examiner.com has little association with the San Francisco Examiner or Washington Examiner, except that they share the same name and are owned by conservative oilman Phil Anschutz.

Deirdre Hussey named new SF Examiner editor

Deirdre Hussey (pictured) has succeeded Jim Pimentel as executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner, the paper announced today. Hussey joined the Examiner in 2002 and and was north San Mateo County editor, city editor and assistant managing editor before being appointed managing editor in 2007.

“We are fortunate to have in Deirdre a leader who combines a keen dedication to the news with a detailed understanding of San Francisco and San Mateo counties,” Publisher John Wilcox said. “We look forward to more growth with Deirdre at the news helm.”

Pimentel, who has been with the Examiner since 2001, resigned on June 18 to take the post of director of special projects for Clarity Media Group, the Examiner's owner. He will report to Ryan McKibben and will focus on a redesign and platform change for the San Francisco and Washington Examiner newspaper websites. (Photo credit: Examiner file)

Examiner Editor James Pimentel resigns

James Pimentel (pictured) has resigned as executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner after nearly four years in the job and nine years at the paper.

The SF Appeal, an online newspaper, reports that Pimentel left on Friday, June 18, and that Publisher James Wilcox informed the staff of his departure on Tuesday, June 22. The Appeal says Wilcox told the staff that "several factors" led to Pimentel's departure, but he didn't elaborate.

No successor has been named. Managing editor Deirdre Hussey is currently running the newsroom.

Pimentel began his newspaper career at the Oakland Tribune in 1984. He joined the Examiner in 2001 as sports editor before becoming managing editor in 2003. Pimentel led the paper's transition from broadsheet to tabloid in 2003 and its launch of zoned editions in San Mateo County in 2004.

Examiner, MediaNews papers to team up on ads

The Examiner and the Bay Area's MediaNews papers — such as the Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, etc. — plan to work together to sell advertising, the Denver Business Journal reports.

The "San Francisco Bay Area Buy," or SFBAB, is an attempt to compete with the Chron. Billionaire Phil Anschutz's Denver-based Clarity Media, owner of the Examiner, says the combined MNG-Examiner buy will reach more readers than the Chron.

Ironically, Hearst, the Chron's owner, also owns 30 percent of MNG's assets outside the Bay Area. A federal judge has barred MNG and Hearst from teaming up in the Bay Area.

"The San Francisco Examiner makes the SFBAB’s geographic coverage complete," Mark Wurzer, chief marketing officer of Clarity Media Group, said in the Examiner statement.