Welcome to the August edition of Scoop, the San Francisco Press Club’s monthly newsletter.
It’s shaping up to be a busy month for the news business: We’re now in the final 100 days of a historic presidential election, while California has entered fire season with multiple huge blazes across the state. Meanwhile, the California media industry continues to shrink, as a recent piece by the Los Angeles Times explores.
Here at the Press Club, we’re at work planning our biggest event of the year, the Winter Awards Gala. We’ve now settled on a date and a venue: The Julia Morgan Ballroom on December 4. Expect a sit-down dinner, prizes, and a celebration of the best of journalism in the Bay Area. Tickets will go on sale in the coming months.
Questions, feedback, or want to flag an item for our next edition? Reach the editors at scoop@sfpressclub.org.
And now, on with the news…
MEDIA NEWS
Oakland native Kamala Harris is on track to be the Democratic nominee for president. Semafor wrote a deep dive on her (generally friendly) relations with the media industry and her California roots.
The winners of the 2023 California Journalism Awards have been announced. Local winners in the statewide contest, organized by the California News Publishers Association, include the San Francisco Chronicle, Berkeleyside, and San José Spotlight.
The Oaklandside is suing Alameda County over its sideshow law. The local outlet argues that the law, which prohibits being a spectator at the dangerous events, criminalizes First Amendment activities.
The San Francisco Press Club is now selling swag. We’ve launched an online store with branded hats, hoodies, mugs, aprons, and other items.
Legendary editor Lewis Lapham has died. The longtime Harper’s editor and founder of Lapham’s Quarterly was born in San Francisco, Legacy.com notes.
Casey Pratt, formerly a KGO-TV sports reporter, is Oakland’s Mayor Sheng Thao’s new chief of communications. The embattled mayor’s home was recently raided by the FBI, as SFGate reports.
Elon Musk is moving X (formerly Twitter) from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. The mercurial billionaire plans to relocate the headquarters of the social network journalists love to hate, The San Francisco Examiner reports, partially in response to a California gender-identity law.
Got news you’d like included in next month’s newsletter? Email scoop@sfpressclub.org
EVENTS
August 6 — Behind the Headlines: A Public Records Training for Journalists. SPJ NorCal, Bay City News, and the First Amendment Coalition are hosting a FOIA seminar.
August 13 — State of the Race: The Mayoral Election. Manny’s is putting on a panel discussion with political writers about the upcoming local election.
August 15 — Mainstream Monotony: AI in Journalism & Storytelling. The San Francisco Chronicle is hosting a panel discussion on AI and journalism.
August 19 — Sonoma Speaker Series: In Conversation with CARL BERNSTEIN. The legendary journalist is sitting for a public conversation in Sonoma.
August 27-28 — California Ethnic Media Annual Conference, Expo and Awards. A little further afield, Ethnic Media Services (EMS) & California Black Media (CBM) are holding their annual two-day event in Sacramento.
JOBS
The San Francisco Chronicle is hiring a Visuals Editor: Archive and Licensing ($79,040), while sister publication SFGate is recruiting for a Contributing News Editor and a North Coast Contributing Editor (both $45-50,000 for 20 hours/week), and their parent company Hearst Newspapers is looking for a Editorial Director, AI Initiatives ($130-180,000). The San Francisco Standard is looking for a Culture Reporter — Wealth & Power ($75-140,000), an Express Desk Reporter ($60-110,000), a News Enterprise Reporter ($110-170,000), an Opinion Editor ($130-190,000), and a Political Reporter ($110-170,000).
KGO-TV ABC7 is hiring for a Producer ($84-$113,200) and a News Photographer / Satellite Truck Operator ($52/hour). KRON4 is looking for an Assistant I, News Production ($25/hour), a Studio Technician ($33/hour), and a Daytime News Producer ($31/hour).
The Information is looking for a Reporter, Tech Deals and a Reporter, Elon Musk & Co., ( both $80-160,000), as well as a 2025 Editorial Fellow ($75,000) and a 2025 Summer Intern ($900/week). The New York Times is hiring a Reporter/Meteorologist, Weather Data Team ($111-155,000). TechCrunch is hiring a Senior Writer (72-$151,000).
This month’s Scoop was written by Rob Price and edited by Dan Rosenheim. Interested in sponsoring a future edition? Get in touch at board@sfpressclub.org