FANG SAYS EXAMINER WOULD SURVIVE

By: Joel Davis Testimony In Chronicle Case Concludes



Testimony in the federal antitrust case seeking to block the sales of
the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner concluded this
week with would-be Examiner owner Ted Fang taking the stand as the final witness.



Fang's deal with the Hearst Corp. to buy the Examiner is being
called a sham by Clint Reilly, the San Francisco real estate developer
who brought the suit. Defending himself, Fang offered detailed testimony
on his plans to run the newspaper.



The paper, he said, will be an A.M. publication publishing each weekday
and once on the weekend. It will be subscriber-driven and will primarily
circulate in the city and county of San Francisco, and may be delivered
in Marin and San Mateo counties.


The new Examiner, Fang testified, will be between 40 and 48 pages
and will be more of a 'local buy' for advertisers than the more-regional
Chronicle.



Asked if his family has 'extensive political connections,' Fang replied,
'I would not make that characterization' and said his family's
reputation as a manipulator of politicians is a 'favorite
characterization of the Hearst Corp.'



Fang did, however, acknowledge that his family is 'politically active,'
a behavior he said stems from his family's appreciation for democracy
after fleeing Communist China.



Fang also acknowledged that his current flagship paper, The
Independent, has a reputation as being something of a scandal sheet,
an approach necessitated because it only publishes three times a week
and seeks to put new perspectives on news that's often already been
reported by competing media. The daily Examiner, he testified,
will be different.



'The new Examiner will be a much more traditional daily newspaper
with the kind of news that it covers,' he said. Fang estimated the
Examiner, which currently has a circulation of about 113,000,
will need to maintain a circulation of at least 50,000 when and if he
takes it over.



Unlike the current Examiner editorial staff of 200, Fang said he
plans to run a lean newsroom of between 30 and 40 people. He said he
will recruit editorial staff by offering bonuses of up to 2 times their
regular salary that will kick in after three years -; which is also
the duration of Hearst's $66 million subsidy to the Fang family for
buying the paper.



Reilly's attorneys have said the Fang family plans to take a
considerable amount of the subsidy for their own profit, but Ted Fang
testified that he will be paid $500,000 a year -; a figure arrived
at by Fang and Hearst because it is similar to what current
Examiner Publisher Timothy White makes. (White is currently
suspended with pay for testifying on the trial's first day that he
agreed to give favorable editorial coverage to San Francisco Mayor
Willie Brown in exchange for the mayor's help in getting the Hearst
purchase of the Chronicle approved.)



Fang also denied Reilly's contention that he will use as little of the
subsidy as possible so that he can pocket the rest. 'I'm going to spend
as much of the Hearst Corp.'s money as possible to make the
Examiner a successful and continuing publication,' he said.



Reilly lead attorney Joseph M. Alioto, who has made something of a sport
out of making high-powered news executives squirm on the witness stand,
did the same with Fang, inducing him to admit under oath that he did not
actually graduate with a degree in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley, as
Fang has previously said. 'I went through the (graduation) ceremonies,
but I am four units short of a full degree,' Fang conceded.



Attorneys are scheduled to deliver final arguments on May 31. U.S.
District Court Judge Vaughn Walker will rule on the case, which is being
closely watched for its implications on media joint operating
agreements.



Related stories:



EXAMINER STAFF DEFENDS EDITORIAL INTEGRITY (05/04/00)



CHRONICLE CEO PEPPERED WITH MONOPOLY QUESTIONS (05/03/00)



HEARST SUSPENDS EXAMINER PUBLISHER (05/03/00)



HEARST TRIED TO BLUFF CHRONICLE OWNERS (05/02/00)



JUDGE BEGINS HEARING IN ANTITRUST SUIT (05/01/00)