The Unmitigated Bullshit of SF Chronicle EIC, Audrey Cooper

SF Chronicle EIC, Audrey Cooper

In Today's SF Chronicle, EIC, Audrey Cooper, spouts some of the most hilarious bullshit this side of the Onion which is a shame because the subject matter is rather serious. Like freedom of the press; protection of sources; reporting the truth; even reporting that includes lurid details and politically inconvenient facts surrounding sympathetic figures; the case of video journalist, Bryan Carmody and the death of former Public Defender, Jeff Adachi.

Scandalous stuff.

In her article, Cooper seems to defend Carmody, begrudgingly, because he is a stringer; a news freelancer if you will. Never mind it was Carmody who obtained the police report on Adachi's death; the same report Cooper's paper had obtained and didn't bother to do any follow-up coverage which is curious because in the report we know there are several controversial and mysterious facts in it.

That it took a video blogger (something Cooper thinks is akin to crooked used car dealers in the south) to search for the truth speaks volumes about Cooper, her paper's lack of real reporting, and the idea of a region as big as the Bay Area and San Francisco lack of real, honest-to-goodness newspaper reporting.

For days, this blogger, (not a real journalist, according to Cooper) railed on and on about why such little coverage on Adachi's death? I even called Phil Matier, the Chron and KCBS "insider" why he hadn't written any more details about Adachi and the night he passed. Matier laughed.  And this, mind you, was before the Carmoody incident in which SF cops broke into his house and office. Maybe they wanted to know who leaked the report to Carmoody; maybe they were concerned about details in the report; details the Chronicle chose not to publish; why? Have you ever heard of the word, "soft?" Look it up.

Cooper is downright divine today (Wednesday) but for all the wrong reasons. Figure it out. She's hellbent on applauding the Chronicle's decision to keep quiet but at the same time defending Mr. Carmody. Fine, we agree. To a point.

Yet Cooper's piece is unintentionally hilarious because she seems to inadvertently say in so many words--"look, trust us more than this blogger guy because he's not really a valid newsman; be more skeptical of this guy; he doesn't have many sources; we at the Chronicle have the most sources in the Bay Area."

 I'm not quoting Cooper but I'm paraphrasing what she's saying, OK, maybe interpreting. You get my drift. I call it unmitigated bullshit. I have several other adjectives but I don't want to take away the emphasis of my point.


He is at the center of an American journalism story that has opened the forum for debate. He brought a new respect for bloggers. I applaud that notion even if Cooper and her serious cadre of journalists don't. Sure, maybe there was no story. I tend to doubt that because it's hard to imagine why some uniformed guys in blue used a sledgehammer to break into Carmody's house. They had to have a reason.

Seems sort of curious to me. But not the SF Chronicle and Madame Cooper. Maybe she should hire Carmody. But then again, he's not a real journalist.

Bizarre.