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Interview: Steve Jones
Every week we pit the weeklies against each other. This constant literary gladiatorial combat has forced the editors of the weeklies into a state of constant battle readiness. Steve Jones has become so hardened that he comes out swinging at the other weeklies and SFist. Hey Steve, you’re the hard hitting journalist, not us. Here at SFist, we’re quite into softball here actually.
Snark aside, Steve has kindly submitted himself to the SFist interview process. Despite the fact that we’re thrilled that Steve was kind enough to answer some real questions, we promise that his interview will in no way affect next week’s "We Read the Weeklies" deathmatch. The San Francisco Bay Guardian will not necessarily emerge victorious yet again. Maintaining such journalistic impartiality is going to be hard, given how interesting Steve seems. In many ways Steve seems to epitomize Bay Area journalism; he hangs out at Zeitgeist, he goes to Burning Man, and he wasted no time getting arrested during the anti-war riots.
Best story EVER in the Guardian?
As far as impact, it was probably AC Thompson's "The Hardest Time" which was about how the San Francisco Police Department framed two innocent guys from Bayview -- JJ Tennison and Antoine Goff -- for murder and sent them to prison for 13 years. Last year, as a direct result of our story back in 2001, a judge set them free and cleared their names. Since then, we've done stories calling for them to be compensated and highlighting how the two cops that did it -- including former police chief Earl Sanders -- have gone unpunished. It's journalism at its best that achieved results beyond what most journalists will ever experience. AC is a helluva writer and I'm happy to be working with him.
What does it take to be a journalist in this town?
It depends on how you define "journalist." These days, anybody with a computer can start a webpage or blog and call himself a journalist. The late Eric Allen did a City Hall gossip page (called Joefire) that was widely read and he had no background in the business at all. Same thing for Randy Shaw over at the Beyond Chron site or Robert Haaland at Left in SF, who both use their sites to bolster his main vocation, which is activism. And you all do a fine job at the SFist with something that you just created from scratch.
But to be the kind of journalist that can actually draw a full-time paycheck is more difficult. I had 12 years in the business when I finally arrived here three years ago. We do have some writers on staff who worked their way up from interns, so it still is possible to get into the business without much experience. Or perhaps I misread the question. Maybe you're really asking about the stuff, the fortitude, that certain whatever that allows us to do what we do. Well, you need to be willing to work for cheap. You need a thick skin because this can be a tough town. Turning a phrase well helps. And you need an almost masochistic desire to dig for dirt and poke powerful people in the eyes.
What is your pet editorial peeve?
Softball questions about pet peeves. OK, that was cheap. Umm, I suppose it is writing that tries to dazzle with wit and attitude rather than convey information. I love a great writer who can spins spells with words, but journalism is supposed to be about substance. It should be lively and entertaining, but lively and entertaining isn't enough. That's why I can't stand the SF Weekly, particularly that insipid Infiltrator column. What a waste of space!
Story you wished you had run, but didn't?
Several years ago, when I was working in San Luis Obispo, I did this great story about a woman who cared for the elderly and ended up taking their money. There was strong circumstantial evidence that she was responsible for one's death, and she had worked for three different ones and ended up taking their money. Of course, this woman threatened to sue us and after reviewing the story, our lawyer concluded that there was no way that we could do the story in a way that cast her in a bad light without libeling her. To do the story at all was to imply she was guilty, so there wasn't even a way to fix the story around these legal concerns and it never ran. Frankly, I wish we'd done it anyway and faced down the lawsuit because it was the right thing to do.
Please rank the weeklies in the order which you read them, weekly:
I read them all in differing orders each week. The SF Weekly is always a very thin read. I just don't get why they're such a bad paper, except for the fact that the editor, John Mecklin, is an egomaniacal asshole with no news judgment. I don't like the New Times chain and have had some experiences working for editors they've bred, but it isn't just that because I think the East Bay Express is a pretty good paper.
Story you've gotten the most flak over?
The most letters, e-mails and calls I've received by far were for a story I wrote just a few months ago, "We're All Paranoid" which was about the 9-11 truth movement. More than 100 people wrote me about it, most of it very supportive, but some of it critical and a few that were just sputtering mad. I got criticism from conservative patriots who thought my raising questions about the official 9-11 story was un-American and from 9-11 conspiracy theorists who didn't like how said that some of the people in the movement seem pretty nutty. I'm still quite proud of the piece and believe that we all deserve a better investigation of 9-11 than what we've had so far. There are still many unanswered questions that I'm amazed people aren't demanding answers to.
Introduce yourself in one sentence
Hi, I'm Steve, but some of my Burning Man friends call me Scribe.
Age and Occupation
36, City Editor for the San Francisco Bay Guardian.
Home Town
San Luis Obispo mostly, although I lived in Danville from fourth grade through high school
How much time have you spent in the Bay Area?
I've always hovered around the Bay Area and I've spent all my adult life working as a journalist in various California towns: here, Sacramento, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Auburn.
Favorite website
Truthout.com
Favorite dot com or local business
Black Rock LLC, the business that stages Burning Man.
What I'm currently Reading
I'm just finishing up a galley copy of the Great American Job Scam by Greg LeRoy and then I'm start on David Eggers' new book of short stories, which I picked up on Sunday for my vacation next week.
Best Deal in San Francisco
Vietnamese sandwiches for $2.25 at that little place across Larkin Street from the federal building.
Favorite mode of transportation
Bicycle. I'm an avid bike commuter.
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
For the last year, I'm been a huge fan of Lorin Ashton, a DJ who started bassnectar.
Favorite local hangout
Zeitgeist
SF has the BEST:
People
You've never lived in SF until:
You spend some time getting around town without a car.
Favorite Bay area politician of past or present:
Harvey Milk
Now that Gavin Newsom is single, who are you going to set him up with?
My friend Heidi Sieck who works at City Hall. They'd be great together.
You can tell someone is a local here IF:
There's something freaky about them.
SF would be soooo much better if only:
I could afford to live here without becoming Visa's bitch.
Best Burrito:
Papa Lote
Best Restaurant:
Pakwan
Best movie scene filmed in or about SF:
Groove, all of it.
Best thing to do in the city in the summer:
Ride your bike west through Golden Gate Park, follow the coastline up to Baker Beach and hang out, continue to follow the coastline around to the Ramp where you meet friends for cocktails.
Favorite artist to come out of the bay area:
All the Burning Man artists who work out of the Box Shop, the Shipyard, and Cellspace.
Favorite author to come out of the bay area:
David Eggers
Place you always tell visitors to check out:
GG Park
Favorite Bridge in the area:
Golden Gate, particularly when mountain biking up into the headlands.
You have two hours and $15 bucks to kill in SF, what are you going to do?
Go to Zeitgeist, buy a pitcher of Racer 5 and two tamales from the Tamale Lady, sit in the sun and made friends with whoever is sitting next to me.
I have found/sold/bought the following on craigslist:
I got rid of my last couch.
I want all the SFists out there to know:
I care. I really do.
Tell us a San Francisco Story:
I arrived in town a week and a half before the war started and got arrested first thing, the first day, even though I was a bona fide journalist covering it. The whole story is here: http://www.sfbg.com/37/25/war_watch_onthebus.html
Question you'd ask if you were doing this interview:
Why in the hell did the Guardian endorse Angela Alioto for mayor?!?!