Petrelis Files

SF Chron Omits Yiannopoulos' Simon & Schuster Deal

How could a $250,000 book deal between a major publisher and a provocative gay writer be omitted from a daily newspaper's story about the writer's appearance in the Bay Area next month?

Today's otherwise excellent piece by education writer Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle, about Milo Yiannopoulos' speaking engagement at UC Berkeley on February 1, was marred by this omission.

Not one word about the book deal, the publisher Simon and Schuster or the heated backlash against the company in the Chronicle story. What's up with that?

Here's what Asimov and the paper reported about his college speaking tour:

"He typically aims his barbs and taunts at women, people of color and anyone left of Donald Trump. But it isn’t Yiannopoulos that campus officials are so worried about. It’s the people he infuriates — and there are plenty of them — who are causing the administration to consider hiring 40 extra police officers on top of the usual seven, said UC Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof, who’s been bombarded with emails from students demanding that the university cancel the invitation.

"Yiannopoulos, a gay conservative, is a public speaker and editor for the right-wing opinion site Breitbart News Network. He’s been making the rounds at college campuses across the country with his 'Dangerous Faggot' talks, specializing in remarks meant to insult, offend and disgust those who disagree with his ideas."

This is not a matter of fake news but of incomplete news. The Chronicle should have informed readers about the Simon and Schuster deal and ensuring controversy.