Guilty Verdict for Edmund Ko (in National News) Retired Asian American Judge to Fill Insurance Post (in Bay Area News) Streaming Media--Primetime and Online (in Business) The Big Bang of Bay Area Butoh (in A&E) Emil Amok: A Sudden Eraption (in Opinion)

Talking Back

An exclusive interivew with Ted Fang, owner and publisher of the new S.F. Examiner

After a lengthy anti-trust lawsuit filed by Clint Reilly to stop the sale of the S.F. Chronicle to the Hearst Corporation, the Fang family has been allowed to purchase the S.F. Examiner. Ted Fang, above, publisher of the S.F. Independent, will head the new Examiner. photo courtesy of Ted Fang.

By Janet Dang

The deal is done. Last Friday the Hearst Corp. completed its purchase of the rival San Francisco Chronicle and kept its promise to sell its venerable San Francisco Examiner to the Fang family, publishers of AsianWeek. The deal makes the Fangs the first Asian American owners of a newspaper in a major metropolitan area. Hearst announced the changes in ownership a day after U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled out antitrust questions in Hearst’s purchase of the Chronicle.

New owner and publisher Ted Fang speaks out about these most recent developments.

AsianWeek: After these long months of negotiations culminating in this trial, how does it feel to finally come out victorious?

Ted Fang: One of the stories that I grew up with, that my father told the kids, was this story about a foolish old man in the mountain. It’s a Chinese fable. There was an old man who lived in a village. The town was on the other side of this mountain. He did his farming and everyday he would have to either take his products up and over this mountain, or walk all the way around the mountain to get to the other side. It would take an awful long time to do that. But there was no other choice because there was no other way to get to the town to sell his goods.

One day he wakes up and he takes a shovel and he starts digging at the foot of this mountain. All the other villagers gather around and say, ‘What are you doing, old man?’

‘I’m going to move this mountain,’ the old man said. ‘I’m tired of having to walk around or walk over this mountain everyday to sell my goods.’

The village people pointed and laughed at him, and said, ‘You foolish old man. You can’t dig away that mountain by yourself. That mountain is bigger than you are. You’ll never be able to dig that mountain.’

The old man replied, ‘You may call me foolish. And I may not be able to move this mountain in my lifetime, but I’m going to keep digging here everyday, and when I die, my sons are going to keep digging, and when they die, their sons are going to keep digging. One day we will move this mountain.’

My father told me this story and said, ‘You must always have perseverance and never give up.’ This struggle to acquire the Examiner, and to fulfill my father’s dream of owning a daily newspaper in a major metropolitan city has been a long struggle, but hugely gratifying.

AW: Did you ever have any doubts that you would own the Examiner?

TF: I think the concentration was always on overcoming whatever obstacles that were in the way, and doing the best we could to stay away from the negativity that was being generated by so many other quarters.

AW: Give us an idea of what it was like during this whole ordeal, with your family’s name out in public, and the way the media has been handling this story.

TF: During the struggle, it was very clear that it was one of the few times that an Asian American family could get so close to achieving something of this magnitude. That drew a lot of media attention—that an Asian American family could come this far.

AW: How would you characterize the media coverage?

TF: I would characterize the coverage as greatly uneven, certainly something that makes me rethink the industry that I’m in. If we are covering ourselves in this manner, it made me question how we cover the other industries and people. So, reading the articles as they came out on a daily basis and seeing factual errors, seeing the assumptions and conclusions that were drawn by reporters, by the news media, gave me an even greater insight into journalistic practices and integrity. I hope this will help me to focus on improving that—both for my own newspapers and for the industry.

AW: What was your relationship with Clint Reilly prior to the lawsuit?

TF: I really do not have a relationship with Clint Reilly. Clearly he was the rejected suitor, if you will, in this scenario, and he played out that role to the best of his ability.

AW: In your view, did you find any flaws in his lawsuit?

TF: I think that in the city of San Francisco—and in fact this is one of the things that makes this city stronger—is that the legal process is very important.

All parties in this city like to be able to express their viewpoints before any deal is completed. That is really what happened in this case. I think Clint Reilly wanted to have his say; I think Judge Walker wanted to have his say. It is notable that four months after my deal was signed with the Hearst Corp., and after a long and ugly trial, that all things are the same as they were four months ago, except Clint Reilly had his chance to say what he wanted to say, and more importantly, Judge Walker had a chance to say what he wanted to say, even if nothing was changed.

AW: Did this trial affect the relationships between your family members?

TF: My family’s philosophy, through good times or bad, is that the family unity is very important. From that point of view, both the difficulties of the trial and our ultimate victory have not affected my family’s relationship at all.

AW: Most reports describe your family as “politically connected” and even “allied with Mayor Willie Brown.” How do you feel about that?

TF: We are a prominent Asian American family. We have made our mark in this city and in this country. I think that’s something to be very proud of. I do think that because there are so few Asian Americans represented in positions of prominence that there was extra attention focused on my family and how we got here.

As the Asian American community continues to grow, evolve and develop in this country, and assume more positions of prominence, it would no longer be a story when Asian Americans are able to achieve important goals.

AW: Do you think your family’s prominence may have helped in purchasing the Examiner?

TF: It was clear that our family’s experience in the newspaper industry, our family’s roots and reputations in the San Francisco area, were elements that made the authorities feel more confident in our ability to compete with the Hearst-owned Chronicle.

AW: Judge Walker was critical of the Department of Justice, basically accusing them of being politically pressured and even swayed by “cronyism” during the investigation of the newspaper ownership transfers. Can you respond to those allegations?

TF: I think that the judge is entitled to his opinion. The evidence was clear, that the Department of Justice’s one and only goal was to preserve newspaper competition in San Francisco. The DOJ fought hard to preserve newspaper competition and should be praised for that.

AW: Why do you think some critics are doubtful that your family can keep the Examiner afloat?

TF: The newspaper business is a difficult business. There are no guarantees of success for any newspaper operator. In fact, we cannot guarantee even the success of the Examiner. The only thing we can guarantee is that we will compete vigorously, that we will publish a newspaper that reflects the diversity of San Francisco and that we will bring a new voice to the newspaper industry.

AW: Are you at all intimidated by the hype that the Hearst-owned Chronicle is going to be a “world class” newspaper or by the competition you will face?

TF: The challenge for the Hearst Corp. is going to be to build a world class newspaper. The challenge for the new Examiner is going to be to create a newspaper that is uniquely San Francisco.

AW: What kinds of elements do you envision for this uniquely San Francisco paper?

TF: Localized news coverage will be the key. Reflecting ethnic, cultural, political diversity of San Francisco will be equally important. Being in touch with all of San Francisco neighborhoods will be necessary to our success—and in a way, a large corporation like the Hearst will never be able to do that.

AW: Do you think that the Hearst-owned Examiner has been doing a good job at covering San Francisco?

TF: I pass no judgement on the Hearst Corp. I would only say that being native San Franciscan and being an Asian American, I would bring a completely different perspective to the running of the Examiner than the New York-based Hearst ever could.

AW: In several news accounts, Warren Hinckle has been speaking on behalf of the new Examiner. What will his role in the paper be?

TF: Warren Hinckle’s specific role in the new Examiner hasn’t been determined. But he has been a valuable contributor and advisor to both my family and to the Independent. At every newspaper where he has written, including the Chronicle, Examiner and the Independent, Warren Hinckle has always been one of the most popular reader attractions.

AW: Do you have any people lined up for the editor position?

TF: Yes, but I can’t tell you.

AW: Will AsianWeek be affected in anyway now that your family owns the Examiner?

TF: No.

AW: What obstacles will the new Chronicle face?

TF: I’m worrying about my own operations; I’m not worrying about theirs.

AW: According to Walker, your family’s purchase of the Examiner could be potentially anti-competitive. In other words, he’s almost inviting a lawsuit against your family. And in fact, the S.F. Weekly, according to news accounts, may look into a lawsuit against your family. Do you have any thoughts or comments on that?

TF: No.

AW: Are you prepared for another lawsuit?

TF: I don’t really want to deal with hypotheticals.

AW: We’ve noticed in most articles and even some radio talk shows that have been aired concerning the newspaper deal, your family has not been interviewed. Is that by choice or has the mainstream media purposely limited your comments?

TF: I don’t have an answer to that. It just came out the way it did.

AW: Anything to add?

TF: I’d say that while my family has been at the forefront of this issue, the possibility of this opportunity could not have been if it hadn’t been because of the growth and the advancement of the Asian American community as a whole. Every day you see Asian Americans breaking down new barriers. The success of the new Examiner, no matter how you cut it, is dependent upon the Asian American community’s continued growth, advancement and support.