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New Examiner, New Voice

Ted Fang, publisher of the new S.F. Examiner talks with one of the many reporters gathered outside the Warfield building the day before the new Examiner hit the streets. Photo by Joseph Hong.

By Joseph Hong

After months of lawsuits, deals and high drama, the new Examiner hit the streets on November 22. By providing a fresh perspective on this city and its changing demographics, San Franciscans now have real choice in where they get their morning news. Reflected in Examiner’s pages is the fact that 30 percent of its staff are people of color. Indeed, publisher Ted Fang takes pride in this, pointing out that 39 percent of all newsrooms in America have not even one single minority. Here, Fang talks about the paper, his experiences, as well as his family’s place in history as the first Asian American owners of a major metropolitan daily.

AsianWeek: How does this historical day feel after the months of preparation? In 20 years, what will you remember most about the day?

Ted Fang: That it’s really happening. It’s the first time the city of San Francisco has saved the second newspaper from a joint operating agreement for the long term. It’s the first time that a major metropolitan newspaper has ever started up in only 120 days, and we are the first newspaper of the 21^st century, so it’s an unbelievable occurrence but it’s really happening and that’s the most amazing thing to me.

AW: At what point are you in discussions about forming a labor union? Do you think in this fast-paced dot-com world, the idea of a union for journalists is outdated?

TF: My family has a long history with labor unions. When my father first came to this country, he could not get a job because he was Chinese. He joined the unions and the unions helped him get his first job. Ultimately, the decision of a union will be up to the employees, but we are really looking for the help and support of all the institutions in San Francisco, including the labor union. And just as the unions helped my father get his start in this country, we hope the unions will help the new Examiner get its start in San Francisco.

AW: The newspaper business relies heavily on advertising to keep afloat. Has the negative press had an adverse impact on the sales department’s ability to sell ads?

TF: No, we experienced a high level excitement and enthusiasm for the new Examiner. I think there is a realization among many businesses that in order to reach the entire San Francisco market, they need to look at the new Examiner as an additional vehicle because the old style newspapers just aren’t reaching enough of the San Francisco housing units. In our premier issue … we [had] 50 different advertisers. They have all signed on to the new Examiner and they all have signed on sight unseen because they so much believe in a second daily newspaper in San Francisco.

AW: Are you also keeping old Examiner ad accounts?

The new Examiner offices are located at the Fox Warfield Building at 988 Market Street. Photo by Joseph Hong.

TF: No, we have had to start everything from scratch. This whole newspaper is starting from scratch. There were no advertisers that were [carried] over to us. There was no staffing that was left to us. Everything has been generated from scratch … including the building. I think it was really amazing that we had 50 different advertisers, some major advertisers like K-mart and Montgomery Wards, and some local advertisers like car dealers. They all signed on because they believe in the new Examiner.

AW: Are there any newspapers the Examiner hopes to emulate? What newspapers do you personally admire?

TF: I admire AsianWeek for being a voice for the Asian American community. I admire the Washington Post for its local news coverage, as well as for being the No. 1-rated newspaper in America. But I think we are creating a new model for what a newspaper can be in the 21^st century. We are going to have the most diverse newsroom in the country and I think an important aspect of the new Examiner is going to be diversity. When I talk about diversity, I’m not just talking about race or color. I’m talking about ideology and philosophy, diversity of rights, diversity of opinions. The American Society of Newspaper Editors took a survey that showed 39 percent of all newsrooms in America have not even one single person of color in their news staff. So the San Francisco Examiner is already making history by having the most diverse newsroom in the country. We hope we will able to define newspapers of the 21^st century as newspapers of diversity.

AW: What has the hiring process been like for the new Examiner?

TF: It’s been a very exciting hiring process. We’ve had a very high level of interest in the Examiner and I think there’s been a very high level excitement in the industry for what we’re trying to do at the Examiner. So, we had a lot of people applying for positions. I think one of the things that people have to realize about the new Examiner is that it’s really based on staff. There are, maybe, two characteristics of this staff: One is that they all realize they are taking risks because this has never been done before, but by the same token, they all realize that they are making history. So, the staff here at the new Examiner can be characterized as risk takers and history makers because that’s what they are.

AW: What are your strategies for competing in this market? I guess you’re focussing on the San Francisco market instead of the overall Bay Area market?

TF: Our focus is going to be on San Francisco and the neighboring counties south, San Mateo County. We’re going to have some circulation in southern Marin and western Alameda counties. But the reality is, in the city and county of San Francisco, 70 percent of the household do not subscribe to any of the old daily newspapers. We think there is an opportunity. Those households aren’t subscribing, not because they don’t read, but because they don’t have anything to read in the old newspaper. We hope to provide them with something that will be interesting for them to read, something relevant to their lives. That’s where I think we’ll get our readership.

AW: Do you feel the San Jose Mercury News is a major competitor?

TF: I think the San Jose Mercury News is a major competitor to regional newspapers but not so much to the San Francisco Examiner with its San Francisco focus. I think the Mercury News will continue to have a Silicon Valley and Santa Clara focus. Of course, there are some people in San Francisco who work in Silicon Valley and would be interested in the San Jose Mercury News, but that’s a different readership than what the new Examiner is going after.

AW: How much input or influence will you have in the newsroom?

TF: You know my job is to set the direction, the policy of this newspaper and I take that very seriously. I will be involved in doing that. I will be involved in setting the opinions of the paper.

AW: What are some of the most difficult problems in running the paper?

TF: I think the most difficult problem is getting the paper up to speed in time. You know we only had 120 days to do it. We had to put together a staff, we had to find office spaces, we had to work through the bureaucratic building process in San Francisco — the computer systems, we still have to work that out. Not all of our staff is even in our location. We have yet to move people over. There have just been a lot of logistics to work out. We have a start-up location. It’s extremely exciting, but there are also the most ups and downs in one day that a person can handle.

AW: Is this comparable to your experience with the Independent?

TF: This is on a larger scale than my family and I have ever done before, not just from the respect of being daily newspaper, but from the respect of the interest from the city, the interest from the community. Many, many, people contributed to saving the new Examiner, so there’s a high level of interest in it. Due to that level of interest and that level of anticipation from so many people and so many groups, it’s been a huge undertaking ... I’m smack dab in the middle of the biggest newspaper story and I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.

AW: Is there anything else you would like to say?

TF: I think the new Examiner is really like a new life being born. Many people are trying to put a label on the new Examiner, such as, “it’s going to be a Fang publication”, “it’s going to be an Asian American publication”, or “it’s going to be a Willie Brown publication.” But just like with any new life, ultimately that life is going to take on a personality of its own. The San Francisco Examiner is going to develop its own personality that’s going to surprise a lot of people and I’m just happy to be a part of that and to be the shepherd of that new life.