''The San Francisco Standard'' is an online news organization based in San Francisco, California, launched in 2021 and funded in part by the billionaire venture capitalist
Michael Moritz
Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz (born 12 September 1954) is a Welsh billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., '' The Little Kingdom'' ...
of
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, specializing in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. the firm had appro ...
.
History
The San Francisco Standard was originally ''Here/Say Media'', a project of Civic Action Labs, a
501(c)4
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out ...
nonprofit. Some journalism ethicists were concerned about the organization's structure (nearly all nonprofit journalism organizations are 501(c)3 nonprofits) and refusal to disclose its donors.
In March 2021, Here/Say disclosed on its website that it was funded by Crankstart, a foundation funded by Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman.
In August 2021, Here/Say wrote that it had incorporated into an independent, for-profit entity, and that Moritz and Heyman had invested $10 million.
In November 2021, Here/Say Media announced that the organization had changed its name to ''The San Francisco Standard''.
In December 2021, the Standard partnered with
ABC 7 to cover the
2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election.
The San Francisco Standard's voter poll was featured in news coverage on the
recall election of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. In May 2022, the Standard published a story showing that Boudin's office secured three convictions for drug dealing in 2021, whereas Boudin's predecessor
George Gascón
George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 7, 2020 to December 3, 2024. A member of the Democratic Party and a former member of ...
oversaw over 90 convictions in 2018. Instead, Boudin's office emphasized convictions for a different crime which would not penalize foreign nationals with deportation or threats to naturalization. The story generated secondary coverage in the
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
,
Washington Monthly
''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...
, and
Courthouse News Service
Courthouse News Service is an American news service primarily focusing on civil litigation. It offers both free and paid services. Its core audience is lawyers and law firms, who subscribe to the service;Courthouse News Service v. Schaefer', Civi ...
.
In October 2022, editor-in-chief
Jonathan Weber resigned, citing differences with chief executive Griffin Gaffney.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:San Francisco Standard
American news websites
Companies based in San Francisco