SF Weekly
Encyclopedia
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly
newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los Angeles, California
LA Weekly
. Founded locally in the mid 1980s and bought by Village Voice Media (then New Times Media
) in 1995, SF Weekly has garnered notable national journalism awards and enjoys mixed reviews by the Bay Area community. The paper sponsors the annual SF Weekly Music Awards
, also known as the "Wammies".
SF Weekly is politically independent, and encourages its writers to form and support educated opinions about the topics upon which they report. Contrarianism and questioning of political dogma is openly encouraged. The paper combines columns critical of both the left and right, emphasizing investigative reportage, long-form, narrative feature writing, and comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage.
The paper trains anywhere from 1-5 up and coming reporters per academic quarter, but interns must receive academic credit for their work.
:
National Society of Newspaper Columnists:
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
. Founded locally in the mid 1980s and bought by Village Voice Media (then New Times Media
New Times Media
Village Voice Media is a privately held corporation headquartered in Phoenix.The company owns the Village Voice, America's oldest and largest alternative weekly newspaper, as well as LA Weekly, OC Weekly in Orange County, California, Seattle Weekly, City Pages in Minneapolis-St...
) in 1995, SF Weekly has garnered notable national journalism awards and enjoys mixed reviews by the Bay Area community. The paper sponsors the annual SF Weekly Music Awards
SF Weekly Music Awards
The SF Weekly Music Awards are a music award for San Francisco Bay Area performers, issued by the SF Weekly alternative weekly newspaper....
, also known as the "Wammies".
SF Weekly is politically independent, and encourages its writers to form and support educated opinions about the topics upon which they report. Contrarianism and questioning of political dogma is openly encouraged. The paper combines columns critical of both the left and right, emphasizing investigative reportage, long-form, narrative feature writing, and comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage.
The paper trains anywhere from 1-5 up and coming reporters per academic quarter, but interns must receive academic credit for their work.
Sections
- News: includes local, regional and sometimes statewide short and long news stories
- Arts and Entertainment: includes a weekly calendar, city events listings, a music section with a weekly music column, several music features, show previews, and CD reviews. Also includes a bi-monthly Books and Arts section, a food column, DVD reviews, theater reviews, the nightlife column Bouncer, as well as the syndicated sex advice column Savage Love, and astrology chart Free Will Astrology.
- Online Offerings: the Snitch news blog, the All Shook Down music, the SFoodie food blog, and the Exhibitionist arts blog. All offer daily news and posts.
Armenian Genocide
With an October 30, 2007 Op-Ed blog entitled "SF's Needs to Kill Its Armenian Genocide Resolution", Benjamin Wachs stirred controversy due to remarks deemed to be extremely offensive by descendants of survivors of the genocide by pondering what gift would most appropriate for his girlfriend to celebrate Armenian Genocide Day. The Weekly's former web editor David Downs responded by musing "If there was a genocide, then why is there so many left of you around to bitch?"Ethics
The SF Weekly was the subject of ethical controversy in Jan., 2006, when a column about the AVN porn awards misidentified the event's location and honorees. The paper's editor had apparently altered a column about a different event from years before.Bay Guardian Company, Inc. v SF Weekly, et al.
The San Francisco Bay Guardian, another free alternative weekly newspaper distributed every Wednesday in the SF Bay Area, sued SF Weekly in civil court, alleging that it tried to put the Bay Guardian out of business by selling ads below cost. The Guardian won the suit in March, 2008, and was granted a $6.2 million in damages, a figure that swelled to $21 million with antitrust penalties and interest by June 2010. After the verdict, the Guardian obtained court orders allowing it to seize and sell the Weeklys two delivery trucks and collect half of the Weeklys ad revenue.Awards
Association of Alternative NewsweekliesAssociation of Alternative Newsweeklies
The Association of Alternative Newsmedia is a diverse group of covering every major metropolitan area and other less-populated regions of North America. AAN members have a combined weekly circulation of over 6.5 million as well as a print readership of nearly 17 million active, educated and...
:
- 2002: Investigative Reporting: (Above 54,000) 1st Place: "Fallout" by Lisa Davis and John Mecklin, SF Weekly
- 2004: Investigative Reporting: (Above 50,000) 1st Place (tie): "Death, Maiming, Money, and Muni" by Peter Byrne, SF Weekly
- 2004: News Story: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: Lisa Davis, SF Weekly
- 2008: Cover Design: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: Darrick Rainey, "Wheelchairs of Fortune" July 25 2007; "Just Say No" May 23 2007, "Future Games" April 27 2007, SF Weekly
- 2009: News Story: (Above 50,000) 1st Place: "Snitch" by Ashley Harrell, SF Weekly
National Society of Newspaper Columnists:
- 2009: Humor: 1st Place: Katy St. Clair, Bouncer
External links
- SF Weekly official website
- The Snitch, official daily news blog
- All Shook Down, official daily music and art blog
- SF Foodie, official food and restaurants blog
- Bruce Brugmann Library, official library of articles and court documents regarding Bruce Brugmann and the ongoing legal dispute between SF Weekly and the San Francisco Bay GuardianSan Francisco Bay GuardianThe San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...