San Francisco Chronicle
Teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young launched The Daily Dramatic Chronicle on the 16th of January 1865. They started the venture with a borrowed $20 gold piece to fund their first office at the corner of Bush and Kearney Streets. Within ten years, the paper achieved the largest circulation of any newspaper west of the Mississippi River. By 1880, it held the title of the West Coast's largest newspaper. The publication changed its name to The Daily Morning Chronicle for less than a year before settling on San Francisco Chronicle in August 1869. It began daily publication frequency starting with the 9th of September 1872 issue.
The de Young brothers commissioned a new headquarters from Burnham and Root at 690 Market Street. This structure became known as San Francisco's first skyscraper and was completed in 1889. The building suffered damage during the 1906 earthquake but was rebuilt under the direction of William Polk. That original structure, now called the Old Chronicle Building or DeYoung Building, still stands today after restoration efforts in 2007. In 1924, the paper moved to a Gothic Revival style headquarters at 901 Mission Street designed by Charles Peter Weeks and William Peyton Day. Most of the Gothic detailing disappeared in 1968 when the building received stucco cladding. The current location remains the Chronicles headquarters as of 2017.
Paul Avery pursued the trail of the self-named Zodiac Killer who sent cryptograms in letters to the newspaper during his murder spree in the late 1960s. One letter mailed on the 31st of July 1969, bore the postmark of San Francisco, California. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada won the 2004 George Polk Award for their reporting on the BALCO scandal. Their investigation linked San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds to performance-enhancing drugs. Pierre Salinger also contributed investigative reporting before entering national politics. The paper has received multiple Pulitzer Prizes over its history.
The newspaper launched SFGate with a soft launch in March and an official debut on the 3rd of November 1994. Allen Weiner and John Coate co-founded what became known as The Gate, the first large market newspaper website in the world. SFChronicle.com launched later in 2013 to separate the digital brands from the print operation. By January 2015, SFGate registered 19 million unique visitors, ranking seventh among U.S. newspaper websites. The site now receives 135.9 million pageviews monthly alongside 25.1 million unique visitors globally. A union strike occurred when The Gate originally launched, leading staff from the San Francisco Free Press to join the new platform once the dispute ended.
Hearst Communications purchased the Chronicle from the de Young family on the 27th of July 2000 for $660 million. This price exceeded analysts' valuation of $500 million at the time. Hearst transferred ownership of the rival Examiner to the Fang family along with a $66-million subsidy. The Examiner subsequently became a free tabloid, leaving the Chronicle as the only daily broadsheet in San Francisco. John Sias served as publisher from 1993 until 1999 before the sale. Frank Vega took over as publisher from 2004 to 2013 and retired in May 2013. Jeffrey M. Johnson replaced him and led the paper until 2018. Bill Nagel has held the position since 2018.
Daily readership dropped by 16.6% between 2004 and 2005 to reach 400,906 subscribers. The newspaper fired one-quarter of its newsroom staff in May 2007 during cost-cutting measures. Financial losses accumulated every year since 2001, exceeding $50 million in 2008 alone. On the 26th of October 2009, circulation fell 25.8% for the six-month period ending September 2009. This represented the largest percentage drop among major U.S. newspapers at that time. Subscribers numbered 251,782 following the decline. Hearst threatened to shut down the paper if no buyer emerged after these financial struggles. The Audit Bureau of Circulations reported these figures publicly.
Common questions
When did the de Young brothers launch The Daily Dramatic Chronicle?
Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young launched The Daily Dramatic Chronicle on the 16th of January 1865.
What is the current headquarters location of the San Francisco Chronicle as of 2017?
The newspaper operates from its Gothic Revival style headquarters at 901 Mission Street, which has been the location since 1924.
Who won the George Polk Award for reporting on the BALCO scandal in 2004?
Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada won the 2004 George Polk Award for their investigation linking Barry Bonds to performance-enhancing drugs.
How many unique visitors did SFGate register by January 2015?
SFGate registered 19 million unique visitors by January 2015, ranking seventh among U.S. newspaper websites.
For how much money did Hearst Communications purchase the Chronicle in 2000?
Hearst Communications purchased the Chronicle from the de Young family on the 27th of July 2000 for $660 million.