The editor-in-chief of SF’s right-leaning publication, who’s synonymous with online trolling, was recently blocked by GrowSF — the political committee also behind The Bold Italic.
The conservative PAC GrowSF has continued its trajectory as a hyperlocal eyesore since launching in 2021 with the mission to inject “moderate ideals” into the San Francisco political landscape. Those objectives have proven to be far more right-leaning than centered.
The Marina Times, basically San Francisco’s iteration of Breitbart — a “moderate” publication helmed by Susan Dyer Reynolds, the faceless social media avatar with a history of attacking people online — cheered when The Bold Italic was acquired by GrowSF in December of 2022, claiming the acquisition was a “win” for local journalism.
That publication Reynolds once cheered for blocked her on X last week.
“Wow, they went from asking ‘how they could support my amazing journalism’ two years ago to blocking me,” Reynolds writes in a post on X. Reynolds has sat comfortably in her role as editor-in-chief of the online and print publication for years and has seen the paper through various transitional phases, including when it was acquired by Steet Media, which is the parent company of LA Weekly and other online and print outfits. Reynolds continued her frustration, adding that having “thin skin won’t get you anywhere in San Franciscos’ tough political arena.”
The theoretical thinness of one person’s or publication’s skin is objective. But the factual sentiments around sound journalism are steadfast and understood.
GrowSF is a political PAC; on its own, the fledgling political collective blocking Reynolds on X is poor behavior — but it’s not immoral.
However, GrowSF isn’t merely a committee organized around a certain agenda — it’s also the very proud and very vocal and very visual owners of The Bold Italic; at the point of its acquisition nearly two years ago, it was the largest lifestyle publication in San Francisco. Thus, GrowSF’s actions are directly entwined with The Bold Italic… especially since the group’s two founding members also serve as editors of the publication.
GrowSF promised that The Bold Italic wouldn’t be influenced by the organization’s political wants, needs, and goals. This, alas, is impossible; by the very nature of the relationship between it and the parent entity that owns it, The Bold Italic is inherently politicized and polarized — its leanings inadvertently sway with its owner’s opinions and objectives. Any promises otherwise are untrue and misleading and manipulating.
GrowSF’s blocking of Reynolds is an active act of silencing. Barring any direct threats to the safety of any or all members of the committee, it’s an inexcusable deception.
(I mean, hell: Reynolds has come after me more times than I can count — while I was editing SFist, while I was EIC of The Bold Italic, when I founded Underscore — but I never once thought to block her or bar her opinions. Because that’s an unethical practice. I, too, have thick skin.)
The Bold Italic’s spiraling decline as a journalistic outfit in San Francisco remains something I can’t peel my eyes away from. It’s like seeing a car you once leased (and were in line to own) have its suspension collapse … right before colliding into a brick wall.
Never in our wildest dreams (nightmares?) would we believe we’d one day be siding with Reynold over her mistreatment by GrowSF and, by proxy, The Bold Italic. Yet, here we are.
