Pausing to refresh
Off the streets, onto the web
by Betsey Culp
(bculp@sfcall.com)
The average lifespan of a San Francisco newspaper, somebody
once said, is about two years. You’ve seen them come and go:
that sounds about right, doesn’t it?
Two years in a human’s life… the wee bairn has just begun
to talk.
Two years for a dog… if he’s a Jewish mutt, he’s just
learned his Hebrew text and celebrated his canine bar mitzvah.
Two years for the San Francisco Chronicle… the teen-aged de
Young boys were probably still handing out their four-pager in
the city’s theaters and restaurants.
Two years for the reincarnated San Francisco Call… this
little paper has grown to a substantial twelve pages, reaching
thousands of readers through its print and online editions.
And now it’s time for a change.
For the next several months, the Call will run only as an
online newspaper. Make a note of the website:
www.sfcall.com. Like
the print version, it will appear regularly on Mondays;
because of the flexibility that the internet offers, updates
may run more frequently. (If you’d like to be notified of Call
updates, send an email to
bculp@sfcall.com.)
During these months, online readers will notice a series of
changes as the website moves from an anemic clone of the print
edition to a red-blooded cyber-publication with a structure of
its own. Because the city’s economic climate has not improved
in recent months, CallBoard ads will continue to be free, and
we hope their number will grow.
But the print edition will not be forgotten, merely in
retreat while we do some much needed fund-raising and
reorganizing. You can expect to see the little gray newsracks
back on the streets this summer, well before the November
election campaign heats up.
Speaking of elections… in case you haven’t heard, there’s a
Very Big Shoe scheduled for March 5, boasting a ballot so long
that the city’s Eagle vote-counting machines may choke on it.
It’s a very important shoe, which will determine whether last
year’s progressive victory was just a pirouette in the
political history of San Francisco or something closer to a
new dance for a new millennium.
In recent weeks, the Call has begun to offer a look at some
of the candidates, but what you’ve seen already is only the
tip of the brogan. A more complete coverage will appear at
www.sfcall.com,
supplementing what is already available in the Sentinel (www.sanfranciscosentinel.com)
and the Usual Suspects (www.clemens.org).
If we do it right, the beginning of March will find you so
excited about the issues we’ve raised that you’ll be eager to
vote. I can see the headlines now: San Francisco Records
Record 85 Percent Turnout.
Bye for now. See you online!
