SFist loves to hate the Chron. They haven't won a Pulitzer for reporting since 1952 - which may have something to do with the fact that we can't remember ever buying the Sunday Chronicle, opting instead for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post or even the Mercury News for reading over brunch. But if you want to read about the fashion foibles and favorite films of a Pulitzer Prize winner, look no further than the Datebook section.
That's right, the Chronicle's hard-hitting look into the life and loves of Maureen Dowd - bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist and political firebrand - includes such gems as her borrowing a dress from book critic Michiko Kakutani for a CNN appearance, her rise from tennis club hostess to national reporter, her disarmingly softball "cultural profiles" pieces and moonlighting at Mademoiselle while reporting for the Times. Reporter Heidi Benson concludes that Dowd is like Shakespeare's Ariel, "That sprite in service to the mostly benevolent wizard, Prospero..." There are just so many layers of condescension in this post-feminist nightmare of a personality profile that you'll have a hard time remembering that she's one of the most respected, bitingly critical writers on the beat today.
Drop by the Herbst Theater for City Arts and Lectures at eight o'clock tonight to hear her discuss her book, "Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk" with Paul Costello. Maybe you'll be "disarmed" by her "charming" "coquettishness," or maybe you'll learn a thing a two about covering the highest office in the land, writing a column so balanced it's reviled by both sides and how to be a leader in your chosen field.