A Sad Chronicle

Over the years I’ve posted comments about the San Francisco Chronicle’s deteriorating business fortunes and bemoaned its rampant editorializing throughout all sections of the paper. Nevertheless, I’ll be sad when it shuts down. One reason is nostalgia:

The paper that I loved to read is no more. The great stable of columnists--Delaplane, Hoppe, McCabe, and the greatest of them all, Herb Caen--is long gone, and the current crop, much like today's football 49ers, has only the uniform in common with the giants who have gone before.

The Chron is a shadow of its former self, but its staff of experienced reporters and columnists is still tops in the Bay Area. When one political party dominates all branches of government, the existence of a city newspaper, even one that has shilled shamelessly for that party, provides a channel where alternative views are possible. Keeping such channels alive is vital during a period of unprecedented government spending encumbered by only minimal oversight, despite eloquent speeches to the contrary. If the Chron starts printing news instead of opinion, I’ll become a reader again.