San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free, weekly alternative newspaper published in San Francisco. It is independently owned, mostly by publisher Bruce B. Brugmann, in contrast to many alternative weeklies in the U.S. Beyond extensive entertainment listings and reviews, the newpaper carries many articles of a political nature, usually with a progressive viewpoint. Their main competition is the SF Weekly.
In the Bay Area where politics typically runs between liberal and activist progressives, the Guardian along with the San Francisco Bay View, North Bay Progressive, Berkeley Daily Planet are powerful progressive political forces offering endorsements of candidates and publicization of activities.
Guardian endorsements play an important part in San Francisco politics. An endorsement by the paper can launch an unknown candidate into viability in San Francisco, and Guardian positions and candidates have fared well in recent elections. The Guardian is a political paper, and has often endorsed candidates who have little chance of winning only for them to completley reshape a race, as it did with Green Party member Matt Gonzalez's incredibly close run for mayor. Former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Matt Gonzalez and gay, progressive, longtime supervisor Tom Ammiano have benifited tremendously from endorsements by the Guardian.
The biggest issue raised by the Guardian's editors (in almost every issue) is the idea of public power, that is municipalization of the electric utilities currently owned by PG&E.
Criticism
In spite of its progressive editorial policies, the Guardian carries the stigma of its anti-union past. In 1975, with the aid of Newspaper Guild Local 52 and International Typographical Union Local 21, Guardian staffers confronted publisher Brugmann with signed union cards. The Guardian had recently won a considerable amount of money in a lawsuit settlement and moved to a new building, but Brugmann claimed not to have enough funds for workers' salary or benefit increases, and on the day after Thanksgiving, he fired five senior staffers. Nevertheless, Guardian staffers voted to join the Newspaper Guild, and on June 15, 1976, they called a strike to encourage Brugmann to offer them a labor contract. Brugmann retained a few management staff and hired scabs to replace striking workers. In August, Cesar Chavez offered to mediate the strike, but Brugmann refused. Finally, in 1977, another election was called, but this time votes from replacement workers carried the day and the new staff voted not to join a union. The Guardian had been highly respected as an underdog progressive paper, but after the strike it survived by becoming a "freebie" shopper newspaper with event listings.