SF Chronicle Thinks Outside The Box - Sort Of

The city and county of San Francisco plans to double the fee charged newspapers for selling their dubious wares in street-side boxes. The idea is to help pay for the installation of kiosks to replace often battered and always unsightly individual vending machines.

The San Francisco Chronicle is aghast at this attack on free speech.

As Chronicle reporter Victoria Colliver wrote yesterday:

"In an era when newspapers are under extraordinary economic pressure, this measure will result in the abandonment of news racks by many publications in many areas, adversely affecting the flow of information to the public and those involved in the distribution network," Jonathan Donnellan, counsel for Hearst Corp., which owns The Chronicle, wrote in a letter to the mayor.

The newspaper's zeal for upholding the public's right to know was somewhat less in evidence on Sept. 24, 2007 when it announced without explanation:

"The price of a seven-day home delivery subscription will increase by 30 cents to $4.75 per week effective Monday, Oct. 1, 2007. Prices will be higher in certain outlying areas." (That's 14 percent.)

The Chronicle's position is clear: Freedom of speech and an informed public are safe as long as the money involved goes into its pocket instead of someone else's.