SF Weekly

SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California, distributed every Thursday, is published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, and sponsored the SF Weekly Music Awards.

SF Weekly
TypeAlternative weekly
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Clint Reilly Communications
PublisherJay Curran
Editor-in-chiefDeborah Petersen
EditorRichard Procter
Foundedmid-1980s
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters835 Market St.
Suite 550
San Francisco, California 94103[1]
Circulation70,000 (2018)
Websitewww.sfweekly.com

History

SF Weekly was founded locally in the late 1970s by Christopher Hildreth and Edward Bachman and originally named San 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 (then New 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 formed Voice Media Group.[4] Four months later, SF Weekly was sold to the San Francisco Media Company, owners of The San Francisco Examiner and the Weekly's long-time rival San Francisco Bay Guardian,[5] giving the publishers control of three of the four major English-language newspapers in San Francisco.[6] In 2014, San Francisco Media Co. became fully owned by Black Press.[7][8] The Bay Guardian was closed in 2014,[9] leaving the Weekly as the only print alternative weekly in San Francisco.[10]

In December 2020, Clint Reilly Communications bought SF Weekly together with the Examiner, and announced in September 2021 that at the end of that month it would cease publication "for the foreseeable future".[10]

Sections
  • SF Weekly also publishes SF 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 as Dan Savage's syndicated sex advice column Savage Love and Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology.

SF Weekly Music Awards

The annual SF Weekly Music Awards were based on a popular vote for nominees[11] and were announced in October at the Warfield Theatre.[12][13]

Controversies

Armenian genocide

With an October 30, 2007 Op-Ed blog entitled "SF's Needs to Kill Its Armenian Genocide Resolution", Benjamin Wachs stirred controversy due to remarks deemed to be extremely offensive by descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide by pondering what gift would most appropriate for his girlfriend to celebrate Armenian Genocide Day.[14] The Weekly's former web editor David Downs responded by musing "If there was a genocide, then why is there so many left of you around to bitch?"[15]

Ethics

The SF Weekly was the subject of ethical controversy in Jan., 2006, when a column about the AVN porn awards misidentified the event's location and honorees. The paper's editor had apparently altered a column about a different event from years before.[16][17]

Bay Guardian Company, Inc. v SF Weekly, et al.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian, another free alternative weekly newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area, sued SF Weekly in civil court, alleging that it tried to put the Bay Guardian out of business by selling ads below cost. The Guardian won 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, the Guardian obtained court orders allowing it to seize and sell the Weekly's two delivery trucks and collect half of the Weekly's ad revenue.[18]

Headquarters

The offices of SF Weekly are on Market Street.[1][8] Previous locations have included: 225 Bush Street, 55 Francisco Street,[19] Suite 3800 of 185 Berry Street (China Basin Landing), and 425 Brannan Street.

Awards
California News Publishers Association[20][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 University George Polk Awards[10][21]
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
  • 2009: Humor: 1st Place: Katy St. Clair, Bouncer

See also
  •  Journalism portal
  •  San Francisco Bay Area portal

References
  1. "Contact Us". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  2. Vane, Sharyn (November 1998). "Consider the Alternative". American Journalism Review. Retrieved October 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. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  4. "Village Voice Media Execs Acquire The Company's Famed Alt Weeklies, Form New Holding Company". Tech Crunch. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  5. "SF Weekly purchased by parent company of San Francisco Examiner". The San Francisco Examiner. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  6. Ross, Andrew S. (January 9, 2013). "SF Weekly, Bay Guardian have same owner". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 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. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  8. Dudnick, Laura (July 2, 2014). "New publisher named for San Francisco Media Co". The San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  9. Eskenazi, Joe (October 14, 2014). "The Snitch: San Francisco Bay Guardian Closed by San Francisco Media Company". SF Weekly. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  10. Kost, Ryan (September 10, 2021). "SF Weekly to cease publication 'for the foreseeable future". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  11. "Voting commences for '09 SF Weekly Music Awards". The Bay Bridged. September 14, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  12. Said, Carolyn (June 29, 2005). "Business: Bill Graham deal irks Guardian / Promoter shifts its concert ads to SF Weekly". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  13. "Music Awards". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on August 31, 2007.
  14. Wachs, Benjamin (October 30, 2007). "SF's Needs to Kill Its Armenian Genocide Resolution". SF Weekly. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  15. Downs, David (November 16, 2007). "Your Friday Morning Pre-Party: Boobs, Barry, Busan, and ... BoldWarKids". SF Weekly. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  16. Woodward, Tali (July 13, 2006). "Porn story Puzzle: Behind the Infiltrator Mess at SF Weekly". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  17. Jackson (January 18, 2006). "Did the SF Weekly Scapegoat Harmon Leon". SFist. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  18. Egelko, Bob (June 14, 2010). "SF Weekly wants Guardian's damage award tossed". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  19. "Contact Us". SF Weekly. Retrieved on March 3, 2012. "Address: 55 Francisco St. Suite 710, San Francisco, CA 94133"
  20. California News Publishers Association
  21. "Past George Polk Award Winners: 2001". The George Polk Awards. Long Island University. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
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