San Francisco Examiner Sold

Posted on March 17, 2000

The Hearst Corporation has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of the San Francisco Examiner by a company affiliated with the publisher of the San Francisco Independent. Following a four-month transition period, the Examiner, which is currently published under a Joint Operating Agreement with the San Francisco Chronicle, will be published separately as an independent newspaper. As part of the agreement, the new owner will assume certain liabilities and The Hearst Corporation is making a significant financial commitment to the continued publication of the Examiner.

The new owner will assemble its own staff. Current employees of both the Examiner and the San Francisco Newspaper Agency will continue to be employed by The Hearst Corporation, with the exception of those employees who accept positions with the new owner.

On August 6, 1999, The Hearst Corporation and The Chronicle Publishing Company announced that agreement had been reached for The Hearst Corporation to acquire the Chronicle. The purchase of the Chronicle by Hearst will become effective at the same time as the acquisition of the Examiner. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month.

William Randolph Hearst founded what is today The Hearst Corporation in 1887 when he assumed control of the Examiner. It currently has a daily circulation of 108,968 (ABC Sept. 1999). A joint Sunday Examiner & Chronicle will continue to be published during the four-month transition period.