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SF Weekly

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SF Weekly
TypeAlternative weekly
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Clint Reilly Communications
Foundedmid-1970s
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publicationSeptember 30, 2021(2021-09-30)(print only)
OCLCnumber724024787
Websitewww.sfweekly

SF Weeklyis[1]an online music publication and formerlyalternative weeklynewspaper founded in the 1970s inSan Francisco, California.It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, and sponsored theSF Weekly Music Awards.

History[edit]

SF Weeklywas founded locally in the late 1970s by Christopher Hildreth and Edward Bachman and originally namedSan Francisco Music Calendar, the Magazine or Poster Art.Hildreth saw a need for local artists to have a place to advertise performances and articles. The key feature was the centerfold calendar listings for local art events. The paper was bought by Village Voice Media (thenNew Times Media) in 1995.[2][3]

In September 2012, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders and formedVoice Media Group.[4]Four months later,SF Weeklywas sold to the San Francisco Media Company, owners ofThe San Francisco Examinerand theWeekly's long-time rivalSan Francisco Bay Guardian.[5]The publishers then had control of three of the four major English-language newspapers in San Francisco.[6]

In 2014, San Francisco Media Co. became fully owned byBlack Press.[7][8]TheBay Guardianwas closed in 2014,[9]leaving theWeeklyas the only print alternative weekly in San Francisco.[10]

In December 2020, Clint Reilly Communications boughtSF Weeklytogether with theExaminer.In September 2021 it announced that, at the end of that month it would cease publication "for the foreseeable future".[10]It had been adversely affected by the loss of classified ads after the rise ofCraigslist.[1][11]

Sections[edit]

  • SF Weeklyalso publishesSF Evergreen,a cannabis publication, both online and in print.
  • News: includes local, regional and sometimes statewide short and longform, in-depth news stories.
  • Arts and Entertainment: includes a weekly calendar, city events listings, a music section with a weekly music column, several music features, show reviews. The section also includes a food column, film reviews, theater reviews, as well asDan Savage's syndicated sex advice columnSavage LoveandRob Brezsny'sFree Will Astrology.

SF Weekly Music Awards[edit]

The annual SF Weekly Music Awards were based on a popular vote for nominees[12]and were announced in October at theWarfield Theatre.[13][14]

Controversies[edit]

Ethics[edit]

SF Weeklywas the subject of ethical controversy in January 2006, when a column about theAVN Awardsmisidentified the event's location and honorees. The paper's editor had apparently altered a column about a different event from years before.[15][16]

In July 2015, after Matt Saincome wroteCounting Cards at Graton Casino,[17]the casino notifiedSF Weeklyof its intention to pull tens of thousands of dollars in ad buys, the publisher ofSF Weekly,Glenn Zuehls, reportedly demanded that SF Weekly staff remedy the advertiser with a favorable cover story, by directly assigning the story to a reporter.[18]

Bay Guardian Company, Inc. v SF Weekly, et al.[edit]

The San Francisco Bay Guardian,another free alternative weekly newspaper in theSan Francisco Bay Area,suedSF Weeklyin civil court, alleging that it tried to put theBay Guardianout of business by selling ads below cost. TheGuardianwon the suit in March, 2008, and was granted $6.2 million in damages, a figure that swelled to $21 million with antitrust penalties and interest by June 2010. After the verdict, theGuardianobtained court orders allowing it to seize and sell theWeekly's two delivery trucks and collect half of theWeekly's ad revenue.[19]

Headquarters[edit]

The offices ofSF Weeklyare onMarket Street.[20][8]Previous locations have included:225 Bush Street,55 Francisco Street,[21]Suite 3800 of 185 Berry Street (China Basin Landing), and 425 Brannan Street.

Awards[edit]

California News Publishers Association[22][10]
  • 2018: Digital writing, 1st place: "The Biggest Loss in Paradise: Its Elders" by Nuala Sawyer
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies[10]
  • 2002: Investigative Reporting: (Above 54,000) 1st Place: "Fallout" by Lisa Davis and John Mecklin,SF Weekly
  • 2004: Investigative Reporting: (Above 50,000) 1st Place (tie): "Death, Maiming, Money, and Muni" by Peter Byrne
  • 2004: News Story: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: Lisa Davis
  • 2008: Cover Design: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: Darrick Rainey, "Wheelchairs of Fortune" July 25, 2007; "Just Say No" May 23, 2007, "Future Games" April 27, 2007
  • 2009: News Story: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: "Snitch" by Ashley Harrell
Long Island UniversityGeorge Polk Awards[10][23]
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
  • 2009: Humor: 1st Place: Katy St. Clair, Bouncer

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abVeronin, Nick (September 30, 2021)."Alternative Facts: SF Weekly Turns 40, Takes a Break".SF Weekly.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022.Classified ads were the "meat and potatoes" of SF Weekly's finances, Byrne explains, so when Craigslist became popular, that was a death knell for the previous financial model that newspapers around the country relied on. In 1998, when Byrne first started working at SF Weekly, their issues were thick with classified ads.
  2. ^Vane, Sharyn (November 1998)."Consider the Alternative".American Journalism Review.RetrievedOctober 18,2012.
  3. ^Siklos, Richard (October 24, 2005)."The Village Voice, Pushing 50, Prepares to Be Sold to a Chain of Weeklies".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 18,2012.
  4. ^"Village Voice Media Execs Acquire The Company's Famed Alt Weeklies, Form New Holding Company".Tech Crunch.RetrievedSeptember 27,2012.
  5. ^"SF Weekly purchased by parent company of San Francisco Examiner".The San Francisco Examiner.January 9, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon January 13, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 11,2013.
  6. ^Ross, Andrew S. (January 9, 2013)."SF Weekly, Bay Guardian have same owner".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedJanuary 11,2013.
  7. ^Eskenazi, Joe (May 6, 2014)."The Snitch: Todd Vogt, San Francisco Print Media Company President, Likely to Sell SF Weekly, Bay Guardian, Examiner".SF Weekly.RetrievedOctober 15,2014.
  8. ^abDudnick, Laura (July 2, 2014)."New publisher named for San Francisco Media Co".The San Francisco Examiner.RetrievedOctober 15,2014.
  9. ^Eskenazi, Joe (October 14, 2014)."The Snitch:San Francisco Bay GuardianClosed by San Francisco Media Company ".SF Weekly.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.
  10. ^abcdeKost, Ryan (September 10, 2021)."SF Weekly to cease publication 'for the foreseeable future".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.
  11. ^Kane, Peter-Astrid (September 15, 2021)."A farewell to SF Weekly".48 hills.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022.When I was hired as SF Weekly's arts editor in March 2015, pretty much the entire staff had departed over a six-week period, beginning with the surprise termination of editor Brandon Reynolds.
  12. ^"Voting commences for '09 SF Weekly Music Awards".The Bay Bridged.September 14, 2009.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.
  13. ^Said, Carolyn (June 29, 2005)."Business: Bill Graham deal irks Guardian / Promoter shifts its concert ads to SF Weekly".San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.
  14. ^"Music Awards".SF Weekly.Archived fromthe originalon August 31, 2007.
  15. ^Woodward, Tali (July 13, 2006)."Porn story Puzzle: Behind the Infiltrator Mess atSF Weekly".San Francisco Bay Guardian.RetrievedJanuary 8,2010.
  16. ^Jackson (January 18, 2006)."Did the SF Weekly Scapegoat Harmon Leon".SFist.Archived fromthe originalon February 6, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 8,2010.
  17. ^Saincome, Matt (July 29, 2015)."Counting Cards at Graton Casino".SF Weekly.Archived fromthe originalon August 2, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022.
  18. ^Hutchins, Corey (August 5, 2015)."SF Weekly publisher backs off plan to use cover story to 'make up' with advertiser".Columbia Journalism Review.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022.
  19. ^Egelko, Bob (June 14, 2010)."SF Weekly wants Guardian's damage award tossed".The San Francisco Chronicle.RetrievedJune 10,2010.
  20. ^"Contact Us".SF Weekly.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.
  21. ^"Contact Us".SF Weekly.Retrieved on March 3, 2012. "Address: 55 Francisco St. Suite 710, San Francisco, CA 94133"
  22. ^California News Publishers Association
  23. ^"Past George Polk Award Winners: 2001".The George Polk Awards.Long Island University.RetrievedSeptember 11,2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SF_Weekly&oldid=1205392686"