The San Francisco Standard, the news outlet founded in 2021 by billionaire journalist-turned-investor Michael Moritz, has parted ways with its editor-in-chief, Mission Local has learned.
Julie Makinen, who joined the Standard in March last year after a long career as an editor, most recently heading the Desert Sun in southern California and the Los Angeles Times’ Beijing bureau, said she was leaving the newspaper to care for her parents.
Makinen’s mother was “hospitalized at Stanford over the holidays” and is “now in hospice,” she said, while her father, who was acting as her mother’s caretaker, “has had his own health setbacks.”
“So I’m taking time to be with them and get our family affairs in order,” Makinen added. “I’m super proud of the work I’ve done with the team at The Standard and I’m rooting for the newsroom going forward!”
In an all-staff email sent Friday afternoon, CEO Griffin Gaffney wrote he had some “tough news to share” with the newsroom, and that Makinen’s last day would be April 12. Gaffney wrote that Makinen was looking to “spend more time with family at this difficult moment with her parents.”
“From leading the charge on our world-class reporting of news events like the Bob Lee murder in her first month here to building out our express desk, she has unquestionably upleveled our organizational rigor and professionalism across the board,” Gaffney wrote. “We are better off because of her.”
In a follow-up statement to Mission Local, Gaffney confirmed Makinen’s departure and said he was “incredibly grateful for all that she’s done to build the company and wish her and her family the best in this hard time, as I know our entire team does as well.”
Three sources close to the Standard, who were not authorized to speak on the matter, also said that Makinen was leaving to care for her parents.
“I was in the meeting where Julie talked about having pretty significant family events going on and that she wanted to spend more time with, and I think that’s true,” one said. “I’ve known that that’s been true for a while now.”
“She’s a pro, we have a lot of respect for her,” another added. “It feels like such a loss.”
Gaffney wrote in his all-staff email that Jon Steinberg and Jeff Bercovici, the executive and managing editors, respectively, would be taking the helm for the time being.
Both are recent hires. Steinberg was hired in December last year, after years at the technology outlet The Information and, before that, San Francisco Magazine; Bercovici was hired in February this year and was a casualty of mass layoffs of the Los Angeles Times, where he worked as a business editor.
The San Francisco Standard was previously Here/Say Media, a project of a 501(c)(4) nonprofit called Civic Action Labs. Both Here/Say Media and another project of the nonprofit, the political pressure group TogetherSF, were co-founded by Gaffney and Kanishka Cheng. Cheng still runs TogetherSF, whose chief financier is also Moritz.
At the time of its founding, Here/Say Media raised eyebrows for its refusal to name donors; most media nonprofits are structured as 501(c)(3)s, which disclose their donors to the Internal Revenue Service. In 2021, Here/Say became the San Francisco Standard, a for-profit that is still largely backed by Moritz, who has given more than $300 million to various causes across San Francisco, including attempts to influence politics.
did we ever find out who funds the SF Standard beyond Moritz? they’ve been instrumental in pulling SF to the right in recent years
Putting aside the Moritz funding, SF Standard actually does some pretty high-quality journalism. Aside from Mission Local, they are my other go-to for local stuff.
I wish her well. Caring for parents is so hard.
all one had to do is look at the funding for Mission Local and The Standard to know how their news is going to be presented.
everyone had an agenda.
The Standard has the agenda of millionaires.
Mission Local has the agenda of working families.
Tech billionaire and venture capitalist Sir Michael Moritz (also founded Sequoia Capital) founded this online media publication and uses it as his personal megaphone to influence policy making around his own real estate, Tech and venture capital investments. Moritz promotes his preferred candidates here (Marjan Philhour, Bilal Mahmood and Autumn Looijen etc.) The tabloidesque headlines lead with stabbings, shootings, rape, killing, kidnapping and the terrors of the Tenderloin and domestic violence. SF Standard’s coverage of the stabbing of Bob Lee was shameful; in the days leading up to the arrest of the suspect killer, they stoked fears and blamed it on a homeless person. Dig a little deeper and you will learn that Moritz has plans for luxury residences along the waterfront which likely has lots to do with his bold faced attacks on Preston (and shameless promotion of Weiner.) in the last decade, Michael Moritz has dumped $500,000,000 (FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS or A HALF BILLION DOLLARS) into controlling San Francisco’s local election outcomes. Nothing to sniff at.
I meant to say Moritz’s bold faced attacks on Aaron Peskin not Dean Preston. That the editors at the SF Standard (Gaffney) are proud of and crow about their despicable, lazy, sloppy garbage coverage of the Bob Lee stabbing speaks volumes…….coverage that was on a par with The National Inquirer. Never forget: while every single other local and national news outlet fanned the flames of hysteria, Joe Eskenazi and Mission Local scooped them all (including the NYTImes, FOX, WSJ, SF Chron—EVERYONE) when the Tech suspect Momeni was finally arrested. It is striking that ML’s coverage of the story was professional, precise, clear eyed and steady. And never forget: before the video footage and search led to Momeni’s arrest as the suspected killer, GROWSF ghouls Steven Buss and Sachin Agarwal were actually trying to fund raise off the tragedy, but later deleted these tweets. That’s the thing about tweets and social media: screenshots are forever.
I commend your restraint in not somehow also mentioning Garry Tan in this article politicizing someone’s personal tragedy.
I see your dig at the end, “attempts to influence politics.” You’re also a non-profit and you also attempt to influence politics, often in good ways, with your useful series asking specific questions of board of supes candidates.
That’s good for the city, so thank you — but it’s also a straightforward attempt to “influence politics.”
Carl,
I’m one of the candidates and we’re all trying to “influence politics”.
Otherwise, why run ?
ML with its 100 word answers for 40 weeks will give voters the best profile in the City as the World turns and already has.
40 Weeks with 6 Districts and about 40 (I can’t count and won’t look) candidates makes 1,600 answers for Voters to Peruse.
So far, of all 40 (?) I like Dean Preston’s replies best.
Who’s done best answering so far for you ?
Go Giants !!
h.
You’d also be correct that grizzlies and pandas are both bears.