Editor,
Congratulations on making the SF Daily a going venture! It's good to see more voices competing to provide local news, and I know it's not easy to get a local newspaper off the ground. However I've noticed that you do seem to be putting a major emphasis on human interest crime drama. I hope your paper does not turn into a sensationalist tabloid! I would much rather see more substantive local items such as stories about people struggling to cope with the daily oppressive burden of government taxes, laws, and regulations. But if you do make crime news a major focus, one way in which the SF Daily could serve a vital role here is by consistently telling both sides of the story rather than just law enforcement's perspective.
For example, demand that the SFPD give you access to unbiased raw data rather than spoon-feeding you their version of police activities via a "police blotter" column, as so many papers seem to roll over for these days. Or if you continue to run this feature, balance it out by running a report from a group like CopWatch (see www.CopWatch.com). Because the blotter items put out by the SFPD are not likely to tell readers about things like wrongful shootings or use of excessive force by police officers.
And when you run stories concerning law enforcement agendas which many San Franciscans do not support, such as people being arrested for drugs, prostitution, or unauthorized public protests, I hope you will make sure to interview critics of the laws in question and how they are enforced, and not just the authorities who think the arrests are justified. Good luck, and I'll be reading!
Sincerely,
Starchild
Candidate for Supervisor, District 8
3531 16th Street,
San Francisco, CA, 94114
RealReform@...
(415) 621-7932