San Francisco Chronicle becomes first Non-news Newspaper

St. Brigid Catholic Church in San Francisco, closed in 1994, the subject of a front page Chronicle story for three days in a row.

I haven’t written many posts lately, and it’s all because of the San Francisco Chronicle. For most of the past year, the Chronicle has daily provided ignorant and inane articles and editorials that inspire me, that overcome me with waves of righteous indignation, to write responses.

Unfortunately for me, lately the Chronicle has changed a lot, and the biggest change is they have become a “non-news” newspaper. For example, the Sunday Chronicle for March 25, 2007 did not have one newsworthy article in its entire first section.

For example, the Page 1 Headline article was “Food bloggers dish up plates of spicy criticism – Formerly formal discipline of reviewing becomes a free-for-all for online amateurs.”

(Food on the Web - Some sites relating to the search, discovery and criticism of Bay Area cuisine:

• www.yelp.com
• www.tablehopper.com
• www.chowhound.com
• www.becksposhnosh.blogspot.com
• www.sfgate.com/food/ )
  
  Stop the presses!
  
  Below and occupying a third of the front page was “The lost parish,” the first of a three-part story about a Catholic Church in San Francisco that was closed in 1994!
  
  Hold page one!
  
  At the bottom of the first page was an opinion-editorial article, “War at home for hearts and minds.”
  
  Oh, the breathless excitement of anticipation!
  
  On the left side of the front page were three blocks introducing articles within. The first, in the Sunday Magazine, page 8, “A second try at pregnancy – In the wake of a still-birth, a woman’s diary relates the worry, the hope and the joy en route to motherhood.”
  
  Then, in the Bay Area section, page B1, “The buzz of the bee – Kids and their parents get caught up in the modern theater of competitive spelling.”
  
  Finally, in Real Estate, page K1, “Homes with a conscience – Developer builds in Sonoma County with an environmentally sustainable attitude.”
  
  In tiny print at the bottom, in World News, page A15, “U. N. Security Council bans arms exports, freezes some accounts over Iran’s nuclear program,” and Conflict in Iraq, page A16, “Hundreds, including actor Sean Penn and Rep. Barbara Lee, gather in Oakland to denounce Iraq war.”
  
  In terms of news to blog about, the Chronicle has totally under-whelmed me.
  
  Just to prove it wasn't a one-time anomaly, the Monday, March 26 Chronicle Front Page headlined "Disabled placards proliferate," the second part of "The Lost Parish," "Proposed car-smoking ban angers foes of 'nanny' laws," and Campaign 2008 - Unity08 challenges Dems, GOP online."
  
  How un-newsy can a newspaper get?!
  
  Where will I go for inspiration?
  
  What is the URL for Al Gore's website?

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