Robert Gammon of the East Bay Express says that some people might be surprised that the Examiner, with its conservative reputation, would be buying the liberal Bay Guardian. Under owner Phil Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire oilman and real estate mogul, the Examiner became a conservative newspaper in a staunchly liberal city. For instance, the Examiner put its endorsement of McCain and Palin on its cover. But Gammon points out that the Examiner’s new owners, a group that includes Canadian community newspaper
Examiner sold to group that includes Canadian publisher
Billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz has agreed to sell the San Francisco Examiner to an investor group that includes the owner of Black Press, a Canadian firm that owns more than 170 community papers in Vancouver and northern Washington state as well as the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal and the Honolulu Star Advertiser in the U.S. Black Press also has a stake in the private equity group that bought the San Diego Union Tribune from the Copley family in 2009. The company
Newspaper owner doesn’t talk to reporters
Anschutz Billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz is the owner of the San Francisco Examiner, but if you’re a reporter, don’t expect him to return your calls. Forbes — a financial publication which has a conservative, pro-business philosophy Anschutz would probably like — did a major profile of the Denver billionaire, but he wouldn’t sit down for an interview. Writes Christopher Helman: Why the anonymity? Not because he’s a paranoid, germo phobic recluse like Howard Hughes. Anschutz isn’t hiding from anyone; he makes his
Examiner owner gets 10% of Michael Jackson ticket sales
Phil Anschutz, the conservative Christian billionaire who owns The Examiner and the Weekly Standard, will make 10 percent of all ticket sales on Sony’s Michael Jackson concert film, “This is It,” according to Bloomberg’s Michael White and Adam Satariano. The film, which opened today, is expected to make $400 million in worldwide sales.
Politico article examines Examiner owner
If you want to find out more about the reclusive billionaire who owns the Examiner, check out this article in The Politico, a D.C. Web site founded by former Washington Post reporters. The news peg was billionaire Phil Anschutz’s purchase of the conservative The Weekly Standard, edited by Bill Kristol. Anschutz’s San Francisco Examiner is only mentioned once, but it says of the Examiner’s Washington counterpart: The paper, no longer delivered every day to the affluent neighborhoods it originally targeted,
Billionaire Anschutz hands out Examiners
Dirk Smillie of Forbes.com reports that conservative billionaire Phil Anschutz helps distribute copies of his newspaper, the Examiner, to collect feedback from readers. Smillie admits that Anschutz’s business strategy for his two newspapers (in SF and Washington, D.C.) is puzzling since both lose money. And now he has bought The Weekly Standard, the conservative paper featuring Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer. It loses $5 million a year. Writes Smillie: The 80,000-circulation weekly may not advance his readership footprint
Examiner closes in Baltimore, vows to stay in SF
Billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz is shutting down his Examiner in Baltimore, but will keep its Washington and San Francisco editions open, his company announced. At one time, the Examiner had plans to open editions all over the country, but development of the free daily chain never went further than three cities. The last edition of the Baltimore Examiner will be Feb. 15, according to this story on the Web site of the rival Baltimore Sun. About 90 people will lose
Examiner makes early endorsement of McCain
Forty days before the election, the Examiner is out with its endorsement of John McCain and Sarah Palin. While out of step with liberal San Francisco, the choice reflects the views of the Examiner’s owner, billionaire oilman Phil Anschutz, a prominent Bush backer and champion of other conservative causes. The idea of putting the endorsement from the cover harks back to the days when the Examiner was owned by the Fang family, which ran endorsements on the front page, including
Examiner owner faces trial on tax charges
The Wall Street Journal reports that the IRS is fighting with Examiner owner Philip Anschutz to force the Denver-based billionaire oilman to pay back taxes totaling $143.6 million. Trial is set for June 23. Not a word about the case has appeared in Anschutz’s papers — the San Francisco, Baltimore or Washington Examiners or the San Francisco City Star. The Chronicle hasn’t mentioned the upcoming trial either. But the papers in Anschutz’s hometown of Denver are going wild with the
Hearst Examiner archives sold at show
A follow-up to our Feb. 11 item from the SF Daily about how photos from the historic Hearst Examiner archives, which were supposed to have been donated to UC Berkeley, are actually being sold on eBay. Now it appears they were also sold at an antiques show by Lelands.com, the same company that’s selling them on eBay. The publication Antiques And The Arts carries a report about the show in Hartford, Conn.: “The ‘mosh pit’ crowd at Lelands.com was intent