by Randy Shaw, 2008-07-02
In response to my story on the Hearst-owned San Francisco Chronicle’s absurd claim that “tens of thousands” of San Francisco buildings are at risk, Jerry Pritikin, our favorite Chicago reader, sent me the accompanying photo from 1976 or 1977. The banner headline claims “Alaska Pipeline Blown Up,” and, like the June 29, 2008 quake story, it was designed to grab and shake public attention. But just as the quake story was overblown, so was the pipeline’s injury---the first paragraph revealed that the “blow up” consisted of a 2 inch hole in the 799 mile Alaska Pipeline, This minor damage hardly deserved media coverage, not to mention on the front-page. The Chronicle’s current owner ran the San Francisco Examiner when the blown pipeline story appeared.