Chronicle Marks Embarrassing End to 2006Randy Shawbyline‚ Jan. 02‚ 2007It sounded like a good idea: a December 31, 2006 front-page story on San Francisco that would assess the city’s future as it heads toward a new year. These stories are relatively easy to write---the reporter runs quotes from a cross-section of pundits and civic leaders and then offers some hard to disprove conclusions. But the San Francisco Chronicle showed in 2006 that it has trouble with even the easiest editorial judgments. As a result, the Chronicle’s banner story, “Sunset, Sunrise—S.F.’s Future Looks Sunny,” insulted the intelligence of its readers and embarrassed the paper. Want to write a story that confirms the Chronicle editors’ view that the city is experiencing a “golden age”? It’s easy. Ignore the city’s gay, lesbian and progressive community and give the most important quotes to Charlotte Shultz, San Francisco’s chief of protocol. |