We are delighted to announce that Jonathan Weber, an editor with a wide range of experience and a long record of leadership in journalism, will be joining Here/Say Media as our first Editor-in-Chief. He will oversee all editorial operations, lead the continued development of our reporting, editing and production teams, and help make Here/Say a top source of news and information for San Francisco.
Jonathan joins Here/Say from Reuters News, where he oversaw global technology coverage. He brings over 30 years of newsroom experience, having helped lead the development of multiple startup publications in the Bay Area and elsewhere and holding prominent roles at major national and global news outlets.
“Here/Say presents a tremendous opportunity to help shape the future of local news—and the future of San Francisco,” Weber said. “Our goal is to cover the city in all its fascinating dimensions, using the powerful new tools of internet media while remaining committed to the best of traditional journalistic values.”
Jonathan was a reporter and editor at the Los Angeles Times early in his career, and subsequently served as co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Industry Standard—a weekly magazine known as the go-to source of information for the dotcom boom of the late 1990s. He then founded New West Publishing, a local and regional media company covering politics, business and culture in the Rocky Mountain West. He was later named Editor-in-Chief of The Bay Citizen, a non-profit news venture that partnered with The New York Times to deliver deep reporting on the politics and culture of the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Our mission at Here/Say is to help every San Franciscan get the news and information they need to understand, enjoy and help shape the direction of this great city,” said Griffin Gaffney, chief executive officer of Here/Say Media. “Jonathan brings the journalistic leadership and deep knowledge of San Francisco that we need to build Here/Say into an organization that delivers savvy day-to-day coverage, deep investigations and fresh ways of disseminating news.”
Here/Say started as a project of Civic Action Labs, a non-profit that aims to help more residents get involved in shaping the future of San Francisco. It is now incorporated as a fully independent, for-profit entity, with the mission of creating the contemporary, high-quality journalism that we believe is crucial to the future of the city.
Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, and his wife Harriet Heyman have invested $10 million to launch Here/Say.
Michael, who began his career as a journalist and has been a board member and investor at many of the world’s leading technology companies, will serve as chairman of Here/Say. The editorial team under Jonathan will retain complete creative freedom and control of the news offering, adhering to the highest ethical standards as defined by the Society of Professional Journalists and other professional organizations.
Please join us in welcoming Jonathan to the team as we continue into the next chapter of our work. He will start Sept. 1.
P.S. We’re hiring—a lot! If you’re just as obsessed with San Francisco as we are, get in touch at hiring@sfstandard.com.