Phil Bronstein

'A Circus': The Ross Mirkarimi Saga Somehow Gets Even Crazier

Aaron Sankin | Posted 05.14.2012

Last week, the legal team working on the behalf of suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said the proceedings of the Ethics Committee inquiry...

Employees 'Unsettled' By High-Profile Bay Area Newspaper Merger

| Posted 04.09.2012

This article comes to us courtesy of SF Weekly's The Snitch. By Erin Sherbert If all goes well and the paperwork is signed, The Bay Citizen news...

Former Chronicle Editor Phil Bronstein Resigns From The Paper For Good

AP | Posted 03.08.2012

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Former San Francisco Chronicle Editor Phil Bronstein has announced his resignation from Hearst Newspapers, the San Francisco Chr...

Should Journalists Get Out of the News?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 10.31.2011

Phil Bronstein

The reporter isn't and should almost never be the story. Or try hard not to be, no matter how much "personal brand" work our social media experts tell us is essential to survive the tornado of change that's tearing up our old ideas.

If I Hacked Like Murdoch's NOTW

Phil Bronstein | Posted 09.19.2011

Phil Bronstein

Most journalists know someone who knows someone they could contact if they wanted to hack into phones. I've never hired a hack to hack. But in the British tabloid world, competition for scandalous scoops is much more cutthroat than it is here.

Citizens United Says "Socialist" Obama "Only Cares About Himself"

Phil Bronstein | Posted 08.30.2011

Phil Bronstein

Donald Trump and Glenn Beck are socialists. So are the Kardashians. All of them. And probably Anthony Weiner. In fact, they may be "entrenched" ev...

The Virtual World's Mandatory Morality

Phil Bronstein | Posted 08.08.2011

Phil Bronstein

Let's say your spouse sends you a dirty picture. It doesn't matter if you both like it: officially, you're violating the Terms of Service of most software companies, and they can remove the offending image.

Elizabeth Taylor's Passion

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

"Passion was a quality she never lost," CBS' Harley Carnes said today about Elizabeth Taylor. No kidding. I got a glimpse of that in action a few years back.

An Egyptian Valentine for American Journalists

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Valentine's Day came early last week for flesh-and-blood reporters from U.S. networks, who flung themselves into the joyous mosh pit, soaking in the love like a kindergartner who gets the most V-Day cards in his class.

Yank Him, Obama; Reagan Would Have

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Why is Mr. Obama not paying attention to the piece of the Reagan legacy in the Philippines that we'll call "dealing effectively with a dictator who's lost his grip?"

Free Press and Compassion Clash

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

If we're going to stand on journalistic principle in refusing to take down stories, we need at least to acknowledge the collateral damage of doing what's right.

What's More Transparent, TSA's Scanners or WikiLeaks?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

The more the WikiLeaks info is made public, the more people absorb it into their understanding of how things works. And the less power it will have. The back fence chatter and double-dealing will go on as it always has.

Courage, Conflict, and Context: Digital Timelines Chart Our Lives

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

In our hysterically sharing but existentially unsatisfying social world, thousands of "Friends" or a mayor's badge from a local bar can't necessarily answer the bigger contextual questions of your life and where it fits in the grand scheme.

Would You Like an O'Donnell With That Obama?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

You can't have a Barack Obama without a Sarah Palin. Rachel Maddow, meet the ubiquitous Bill O'Reilly. They're all the spawn of the same dynamic, an expanding new reality where anything is possible and nothing is predictable.

Obama's Barbara Boxer Fundraiser Failed to Rev My Engine

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

President Obama used his appearance at a Barbara Boxer fundraiser to drive his party's sloganeering into a giant pothole and wreck it. Should we let him keep the keys this midterm election?

'Billboard Family' Puts Itself -- Kids and All -- On Sale

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

It's no surprise that we've come to this: there's a family for sale on the Internet. No, these aren't hostages held by Somali pirates. I'm talking about a middle American family.

Is Live-Tweeting About Rape in Haiti a Wake-Up Call or a Mistake?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Everyone's a critic in the digital mosh pit. But the venerable magazine Mother Jones was accused last week of "retweeting rape." So what really happened? Is a "rape feed" something we shouldn't do, just because it hasn't been done before?

Are Bikini Baristas 'Bad Feminists?'

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

In Fremont, CA, women in bikinis are serving coffee at a drive-through, including a 16-ounce "C-Cup" for $1.85. Where is the precise tan line between nuturing empowerment and sexual degradation?

NYT's Kristof Admits "White Reporter's Burden" -- So Do I

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Admitting that there's a white reporter's burden in writing about Africa is among the braver things Kristof has done.

Is the Next Hot Social Media Site 'Real Life?'

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Many entrepreneurs are social media savvy, but they're afraid "they won't be able to make conversation with the experts that attend these events" who may help their businesses the most.

Should San Francisco Officially Boycott Arizona?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Is ostracizing Arizona the best way to go? In our great rush to protest potential discrimination, we should be careful that we don't discriminate ourselves.

Bill Gates on Journalism and Social Media (and the iPad, too)

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Despite Gates' decades-long technology reign, he's a fairly freshman social media user. So for a reasonable chunk of our 40-minute conversation yesterday, that's what we talked about.

Journalism Deathmatches, Then and Now

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

A little bloodshed is good for the news business, particularly if journalism professionals are back to shooting at each other instead of collectively gathering around their own grave.

San Francisco's Tenderloin-Lite for Tourists

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Other cities have red light district tours. But part of the problem is that the Tenderloin has lost a lot of the edgy frisson it used to have. Now it's mostly just poor people coping as best they can.

Tiger Woods' (and Dead Dad's) New Nike Ad: Creepy, Compelling, or Both?

Phil Bronstein | Posted 05.25.2011

Phil Bronstein

Now we know how Nike plans to hang on to its golden-egg-laying goose who disruptively flashed naked tail feathers to the world. It's kind of brilliant, if shameless. I know I'm getting hustled, but I still went back and watched it a few times.