Introduction to the San Francisco Public Press, presented at Geeks for Good in San Francisco, March 19, 2014. Presenter: Michael Stoll, executive director

1. startup public media
Michael Stoll, Executive Director
@SFPublicPress • mstoll@sfpublicpress.org
(415) 495-7377 • 44 Page St., Suite 504, S.F.

2. local nonprofit news organization founded in 2009
ad-free news website & quarterly print
newspaper

3. replace superficial, sensational & entertainment-focused news
with in-depth investigative journalism focused on public policy

4. subruban sprawl • health care reform • income inequality • climate change •
public transit • workforce training • schools • civic participation • public safety

5. public records: list of 3,000 earthquake-unsafe buildings
officials didn’t want to “alarm” the public — 23 years late
… front page story: published addresses & map in paper and online

6. accelerated supervisors’ legislation by months
bureaucracy more responsive & accountable to public
potentially 58,000 lives saved

7. 13 cover stories far, including …
• Explanation of environmental risks in
Treasure Island redevelopment
• Why S.F.’s high minimum wage often goes
unenforced
•
How PTA fundraising is paradoxically making
public schools less equal

8. The lost art of public records requests

9. reported nonfiction comix

10. SANFRANCISCO
PUBLICPRESS
SANFRANCISCO
PUBLICPRESS
collaboration with public media — sharing content and co-reporting

11. interviewed about our reporting on public broadcasting
… KQED’s Forum, KALW’s Your Call, KPFA’s Morning Mix

12. SANFRANCISCO
PUBLICPRESS
SANFRANCISCO
PUBLICPRESS
funding: philanthropy, individual memberships — plus newsstand sales

13. needs:
technology
• website architecture & design (Drupal, Wordpress)
• mobile responsive design & apps
• social media & promotion
journalism
• data analysis, data visualization & mapping
• print design
• photography
• reporting & research
business development
• CRM database design for membership program
• retail sales planning
• financial planning
• hosting fundraising events
but … what do YOU do?

14. local journalism can be more innovative, accountable & consequential
… through focus, collaboration & community resources

15. Michael Stoll, Executive Director
@SFPublicPress • mstoll@sfpublicpress.org
(415) 495-7377 • 44 Page St., Suite 504, S.F.