The San Francisco Standard, the contentious local media outlet known for polarizing content, was founded by billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz.
Big money and media influence go hand in hand, especially amid late-stage capitalism (and what’s effectively a modern-day oligarchy). The likes of The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times have fallen victim to their financial overloads, whether those be corporate entities or singular powers, where journalistic and editorial integrity have been compromised. In San Francisco, no publication encapsulates that conflict of interest more than the existence of The San Francisco Standard, founded and funded by billionaire Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital.
The Standard — which went through a seismic rebranding in 2021 after changing its name from Here/Say to become The San Francisco Standard, the for-profit outlet that’s still broadly backed by Moritz — recently began putting pieces behind a paywall. For $9 a month or $90 a year, readers of the controversial publication can read an unlimited number of pieces hosted on its website, as well as enjoy hyperlocal perks like a free month at Fitness SF and discounted pet care at Modern Animal.
Moritz, a journalist turned venture capitalist, has a record for giving millions — over $300 million as was reported by Mission Local in 2024 — toward political agendas in San Francisco that uphold “moderate” police making; Moritz donated $49,999 to a 2016 ballot measure intended to clear San Francisco’s streets of homeless encampments and funded an anti-drug campaign through TogetherSF (sound familiar?) that drew widespread criticism for its dehumanizing posters and messaging.
The San Francisco Standard buries its association with Moritiz inside a digital maze; as of publishing, mention of the Standard’s funding is found in its “About Us” section, only found on the website’s footer and not in any drop-down menu; its “Standards & Ethics Policy” does not include any mention of its ownership and continued funding by Moritz, nor does it mention the publication’s for-profit model and its recent shift to include subscription model practices.
The absolute last thing San Francisco needs is more support from media outlets megaphoning for billionaires. We can think of far better ways to support local journalism than forfeiting $9 a month to an outlet funnded by a man worth nearly $7 billion … like donating that $9 a month to independent media outlets (like us!) who don’t operate under big money umbrellas (like them, too!).
