Petrelis Files

SF Examiner Cribs from My Blog: Supes & Junkets

Last month I saw scummy political gossip columnists Phil Matier and Andy Ross crib from my blog, and the questions I raised about City Attorney Dennis Herrera's tab for his junket to the Supreme Court hearing in March for Prop 8. The Chronicle eventually commended me for getting that story going.

In today's San Francisco Examiner, reporter Chris Roberts and his editor have pulled a "Matier and Ross" on me. They've cribbed from someone else's initial work, omitted it from their story and give readers the false impression that Roberts is presenting original reporting. That's the definition of pulling a "Matier and Ross".

The piece, Jet-setting supervisors seek new ideas around the globe, is all about what I initially reported here (David Chiu in Israel), here (multiple Supes heading to Mexico), and here (London Breed in Chicago), but you wouldn't know it from what Roberts omits.

By the way, in my reporting on the Chiu junket to Israel, I cited reporting from the Chronicle and linked to their story because I believe in giving credit to the paper in this situation since it was simply the right thing to do.

I'm over how the Chronicle and now the Examiner lack ethics when cribbing the work of bloggers and am glad to have this blog to take bad reporters to task when need be. Ethics and San Francisco's dailies? Lemme know when the papers develop ethical standards for the blogging age because they sure as hell don't have them now.