Bay Blogger Thursday
As you've probably figured out by now, SFist has a tendency to crush on people, especially people in the media. Granted, we're also known to have petty rivalries with people, again, especially in the media. Well, one object of our affection is Adriel Hampton, who's not only an actual journalist with the San Francisco Examiner, but a blogger as well. See, Meredith Brody and Mick LaSalle? Go start a blog and maybe we won't harsh on you constantly. Okay, nevermind -- that didn't work for Jerry Brown. See what we mean about the petty rivalries? So we should say start a blog, link to us repeatedly and shill our merchandise. Then we'll talk.
Unfortunately for you ladies out there (and gents, for that matter), Adriel's taken. And it doesn't sound like he's going to leave his mistress -- The City -- any time soon. Which is good, because then the Ex would be PJ Corkery, Bill Picture and...well...those really expensive houses they put on the front of the real estate section. Kidding! We ask the questions and Adriel provides the answers after the jump.
One of the things we at SFist love is some good old political theater. The reduced TV schedule the Mayor is suggesting breaks our heart -- as it is, there's not even a roaming cameraman to chase after angry supervisors! If you were Mark Burnett, pitching SF politics as a reality show, what pending issues have the most promise for drama? What are the most interesting fights at City Hall to watch for in 2005?
Maybe you get 11 people and have them volunteer a week in each supervisor's office on a rotating weekly basis. Last one standing gets a job on Chris Daly's re-election campaign, and that's the second season. SFist hasn't been around for a knock-down-drag-out political campaign, and that's where the most fun is. For 2005, I'd say watch the November ballot, where feisty builder Joe O'Donoghue hopes to stick it to the mayor, and where the mayor needs a big win to keep his approval rating up. Laguna Honda Hospital and Civil Service reform are big issues on the horizon.
Play matchmaker for a minute. Of course we obsess, but as the most famous man our city currently has on offer, who do you think the Gavster should be dating? Maybe a movie star for publicity, or more like a quiet, accomplished policy wonk?
Jennifer Aniston
Our friends in Washington, DCist, have been keeping a close eye on their new Examiner, which is published by the same Phil Anschutz as our own. They've already spied examples of the promised "upscale" tilt to the paper, something that you guys have probably heard here in SF. Do you feel that the SF Examiner deserves the reputation?
The Ex is morphing into a hard-hitting commuter paper and away from the grassroots feel it had a few years ago. That's intentional.
So what if you were offered the job as political editor in DC? Wouldn't that be the highest profile beat in your profession? What would keep you in the Bay Area if it was offered?
Covering the Governator is a pretty big one too (the OC Register has an opening for that job). Sometimes friends and family and one's own literary bent are more important than a high-profile job. I like the Bay Area, and when I leave it'll be for Tokyo, where my in-laws live.
Okay, so we have to ask a question about being a blogger. Do you write the blog for yourself, as a means to communicate with a community of SF political junkies, or to work with stories that wouldn't fit in the paper? Or is it something else entirely?
I blog to break news I know is going to be on TV or in all the papers, to give my core 200 or so readers juicy stuff that might not have a mainstream audience, to publish bits that wouldn't fit in the paper, and to keep my name in circulation outside of the print byline. It allows me to shape what search engines find, and it's the future.
Do you feel like blogs represent an opportunity for young journalists and non-journalists to help shape the media landscape in profound ways? What do you think your blog will be like in, say, three or five years?
I think the MSM will really adapt to bring blogs into the fold, and blogs will grow past the current antagonism with the MSM to develop a stable of authoritative, unique writers. Advertising-driven media are less literary than newspapers used to be and blogs seem to be picking up more people who simply like to read. If anyone comes up with a better money-making blog model, I'll publish my first novel as a serial on my blog. In three to five years I hope my blog will have more channels and more readers, probably more writers as well.
So we have to ask this, and no disrespect to your web staff, but is the fact that Examiner articles don't go on line so late intentional or not?
Intentional. It's a free paper and we want you to pick up a copy.
Finally, we ask this of everybody we talk too, because we usually get some really surprising answers -- what's your favorite "Only in San Francisco" story?
Muni buses ferrying riot police downtown, Bikes Not Bombs riders scuffling with cops outside a waterfront detention center, and smart mobs of rowdy leftists running from intersection to intersection to block traffic as the Iraq war broke out in March 2003. An incredible few days, "only in San Francisco." Thanks.