3 Questions For Phil Bronstein
Phil Bronstein is the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In no small part thanks to Eve Batey (our "Editrix Emeritus" and the Chron's current blogging and interactive editor), Mr. Bronstein agreed to answer a few questions for us. His responses directly address issues brought up by SFist and SFist's readers a short time ago. Notably, you'll see from his answers below that he'd appreciate more of the same. Here's a chance to hear and be heard from one of the most important drivers behind news coverage in our area--and, for that matter, the country. See what he had to say to us below -- and let him know what you think.
1) We recently had a thread on SFist where we asked our readers "Why Aren't You Paying For The Chron?," and engaged in a little speculation on the topic ourselves. While they had some really interesting responses, we wonder how much weight, if any, responses like that are given by an institution like The San Francisco Chronicle.
About 30 or 40 pounds. A little less for Theo's view that our dreams are "hopeless and idiotic" -- though we hear you and still have hope for you -- than for Rita, who says SFist would be nowhere without the Chronicle. I'm thrilled Rita is volunteering as an Op-Ed columnist; we always need good writers who are also lawyers. I think we do take on "City Hall, transit, etc." and I pretty much get T's location/location point on local (and agree).
We’re having a tough time these days, as are many big dailies; a lot of good people’s lives are being affected. But the Chronicle will continue to be packed with talented journalists who will keep providing what Rita called “an essential public service.”
1b) Are SFist readers among your target audience, let alone those who choose to leave comments? A vocal minority? Something else?
If they weren't our target audience before, now that we know that SFist contributors and readers actually are interested in the paper, they are targets now. I read that post and those comments just minutes after they were posted. Honest. Ask Eve. And since the future of media and communications and technology is all speculation -- from uninformed to informed – some outside opinion is always worth reading. As a journalist, if you don’t, you might be suffering from that “higher calling disease," a professional hazard that I’d illustrate with what might be an apocryphal story: the reporter who can't take a call or answer an email from a reader because they're too busy "doing journalism."
So, tell me more about what you think we should be doing to better serve San Francisco. Because we’ll be changing over the next few months and feedback from people outside the building will be essential to making that change work.
After the jump: Has the Web changed readership habits? Where do blogs fit in?
2) With so much info out there, the Web seems to us to be well-suited for a quick-hits/short attention span format. Are these apparent sensibilities of webgoers spilling over to the sensibilities of the newsroom? To news readers? Is the Web changing the nature of the print product?
Yes.
3) While an ever-growing slice of SFist content is wholly original, much of it involves linking to other pubs' coverage and telling our audience about it--we serve a sort of tour guide role, with the added bonus of often strong opinions. Obviously, as the paper of record in town, a large percentage of our linkage comes from the Chron. Do you view this as: a) piggybacking other people's work; b) free advertising for your Web product; c) something else entirely?
Tour guide role? How about piracy. You should pay us. But it's more like a Johnny Depp kind of piracy -- having your pocket picked by a charming degenerate. Besides, we're not in a pay-for-use web world. If we were, newspapers would be making money.
I guess the added bonus part depends on how interesting the opinion is. But bloggers have it easier, in that respect, than we do -- in a lot of cases, if we show even a semblance of an opinion, there are people waiting to jump all over us. Sometimes people even see opinions when there aren't any. I hope you enjoy the luxury you have, as a blogger, to be able to tell your audience about a story and get to pose an opinion. We've got opinions, too, damnit.
Really, the answer is a little bit of a, b, and c. I agree that most blogs wouldn't exist without the MSM to kick around provide a starting place for their posts. And getting a link is always nice, as "free advertising" and because a portion of our business model is predicated on traffic, at least for now. And it's "something else entirely", because it gives us one more way to examine the work that we do, and to see it as part of a bigger context. That "what people have to say" thing (be that bloggers, commenters, or people who people who call us on the phone is really a big part of our craft. Journalists who think commenters and bloggers are just pesky irritants are missing the value and the point. An abiding curiosity and an open mind are the two major attributes journalists need to be successful. Oh, and an interest in people.
Folks, you heard the man, He said "So, tell me more about what you think we should be doing to better serve San Francisco." So have at it. Mr. Bronstein, we very much appreciate your time, attention, and candor; thanks for doing this.