The San Francisco Standard

Last updated
The San Francisco Standard
FormatOnline
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
Website sfstandard.com

The San Francisco Standard is an online news organization based in San Francisco, California, launched in 2021 and funded in part by the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital. [1]

Contents

History

The San Francisco Standard was originally Here/Say Media, a project of Civic Action Labs, a 501(c)4 nonprofit. Some journalism ethicists were concerned about the organization's structure (nearly all nonprofit journalism organizations are 501(c)3 nonprofits) and refusal to disclose its donors. [2] [3] In March 2021, Here/Say disclosed on its website that it was funded by Crankstart, a foundation funded by Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman. [3] In August 2021, Here/Say wrote that it had incorporated into an independent, for-profit entity, and that Moritz and Heyman had invested $10 million. [4]

In November 2021, Here/Say Media announced that that the organization changed its name to The San Francisco Standard. [5]

In December 2021, the Standard partnered with ABC 7 to cover the 2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election.

The San Francisco Standard's voter poll was featured in news coverage on the recall election of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. [6] [7] In May 2022, the Standard published a story showing that Boudin's office secured three convictions for drug dealing in 2021, whereas Boudin's predecessor George Gascón oversaw over 90 convictions in 2018. Instead, Boudin's office emphasized convictions for a different crime which would not penalize foreign nationals with deportation or threats to naturalization. [8] The story generated secondary coverage in the National Review, [9] Washington Monthly, [10] and Courthouse News Service. [11]

In October 2022, editor-in-chief Jonathan Weber resigned, citing differences with chief executive Griffin Gaffney. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Boudin</span> American radical activist (1943–2022)

Kathy Boudin was an American radical leftist who served 23 years in prison for felony murder based on her role in the 1981 Brink's robbery. Boudin was a founding member of the militant Weather Underground organization, which engaged in bombings of government buildings to express opposition to U.S. foreign policy and racism. The 1981 robbery resulted in the killing of two Nyack, New York, police officers and one security guard, and serious injury to another security guard; Boudin was arrested attempting to flee after the getaway vehicle she occupied was stopped by police. She was released on parole in 2003. After earning a doctorate, Boudin became an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

David Gilbert is an American radical leftist who participated in the deadly 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored vehicle. Gilbert was a founder of the Columbia University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and became a member of the Weather Underground. Gilbert, who served as the getaway driver in the robbery, was convicted under New York's felony murder law in the killing by co-defendants of two Nyack, New York police officers and a Brink's security guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Moritz</span> Welsh businessman

Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz is a Welsh-born American billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., The Little Kingdom, and authored Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler. Previously, Moritz was a staff writer at Time magazine and a member of the board of directors of Google. He studied at the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and went on to found Technologic Partners before becoming a venture capitalist in the 1980s. Moritz was named as the No. 1 venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas List in 2006 and 2007.

The 1981 Brink's robbery was an armed robbery and three related murders committed on October 20, 1981, by several Black Liberation Army members and four former members of the Weather Underground, who were at the time associated with the May 19th Communist Organization. The plan called for the BLA members – including Kuwasi Balagoon, Mtayari Sundiata, Samuel Brown and Mutulu Shakur – to carry out the robbery, with the M19CO members – David Gilbert, Judith Alice Clark, Kathy Boudin, and Marilyn Buck – to serve as getaway drivers in switchcars.

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George Gascón is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, he was an assistant chief of police for the LAPD, and Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco District Attorney's Office</span> Legal agency

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco, California. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to higher elected offices, including: governor of California, United States Senator, and vice president of the United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Tan</span> American venture capitalist (1981– )

Garry Tan is an American venture capitalist and executive who is the CEO of Y Combinator and a founder of Initialized Capital. He previously co-founded Posterous and Posthaven. He was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, and previously a partner at Y Combinator. Tan is also known for his engagement in San Francisco politics, both as a commenter on social media and as a political donor.

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Diana Becton, also known as Diana Becton Smith is a former trial judge and is currently both the first woman and first African American to be elected district attorney in the history of Contra Costa County in California.

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The 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5, 2019, to elect the next District Attorney of San Francisco. The election, which was held alongside the 2019 mayoral election in which incumbent mayor London Breed won her first full term, was won by public defender Chesa Boudin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzy Loftus</span> Interim San Francisco District Attorney (2019–2020)

Suzanne Theresa Loftus is an American attorney who served as interim San Francisco district attorney, nominated by Mayor London Breed after the resignation of George Gascón. Loftus ran in the 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election, losing narrowly to criminal justice reform advocate Chesa Boudin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee</span> Killing of elderly Asian-American man in California, United States

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The 2022 California 17th State Assembly district special election was a special election to fill the vacant 17th Assembly District. The special election was called after incumbent Assemblymember David Chiu resigned the seat to become City Attorney of San Francisco. Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, won the election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election</span> Special recall election of Chesa Boudin

The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7, 2022, concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections</span>

The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections were held on February 15, 2022. In a landslide election, over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education Commissioners—Alison Collins, Board President Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga—from office. All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed. The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lara Bazelon</span> American academic and writer

Lara Bazelon is an American academic and journalist. She is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy and directs the Criminal & Juvenile and Racial Justice Clinics. She is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles. Her clinical work as a law professor focuses on the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.

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Brooke Jenkins is an American lawyer serving as the 30th District Attorney of San Francisco. On July 8, 2022, Jenkins was appointed interim district attorney by Mayor London Breed following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin, for which she actively campaigned. She was elected in her own right to fill the unexpired term the following November.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election</span> Special election following recall of Chesa Boudin

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Engardio</span> American politician

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References

  1. 1 2 Woo, Erin (2022-10-24). "Briefing: San Francisco Standard Editor-In-Chief Steps Down" . The Information . Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  2. Selig, Kate (2021-01-29). "New venture Here/Say Media won't disclose who its donors are. Experts say that's concerning". Mission Local. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  3. 1 2 Schleifer, Theodore (2021-03-27). "How a $25 million donation to help students got ensnared in politics". Vox Media . Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  4. "Jonathan Weber Joins Here/Say Media as Editor-in-Chief". The San Francisco Standard. 2021-08-10. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  5. "Here/Say Media Has a New Name". The San Francisco Standard. 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  6. Dorn, Andrew (2022-06-07). "Why many outside San Francisco are watching the DA recall". NewsNation. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  7. Lowrey, Annie (2022-05-19). "The People vs. Chesa Boudin". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  8. Tong, Anna; Koehn, Josh (2022-05-17). "DA Boudin and Fentanyl: Court Data Shows Just 3 Drug Dealing Convictions in 2021 as Immigration Concerns Shaped Policy". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  9. Mills, Ryan (2022-06-08). "Progressive D.A. Chesa Boudin Recalled by San Francisco Voters". National Review. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  10. Scher, Bill (2022-06-10). "What Democrats Understand About Crime That Chesa Boudin Did Not". Washington Monthly . Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  11. Hanson, Natalie. "Voters, investors and crime experts have eyes on bid to recall San Francisco DA". Courthouse News Service . Retrieved 2022-07-27.