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Committee to revisit official and outreach newspaper designations after supervisors seek broader ethnic press inclusion
Summary
The Office of Contract Administration recommended the San Francisco Examiner as the official newspaper and two outreach papers for specific communities, but supervisors sought to add multiple ethnic and community papers (SF Bayview, Sing Tao, World Journal, China Press, Bay Area Reporter, Bay Times, El Reportero, Chronicle/SFGate/Examiner allocations). The committee continued Items 7–8 one week to finalize inclusions and language.
The Office of Contract Administration presented recommendations for official and outreach newspapers for fiscal 2009–10 and summarized the competitive process driven by administrative code requirements. OCA’s evaluation produced a recommendation for the Examiner as the official newspaper and identified the Bay Area Reporter and El Reportero as responsive outreach papers for the gay/lesbian/bisexual and Hispanic outreach categories respectively; OCA also noted that a number of ethnic or community papers were not responsive under the code (commonly because they do not print in‑city), leaving gaps in Chinese and African‑American outreach options.
Supervisors raised concerns about inclusion of Asian‑language and African‑American press and the ability of limited‑English‑proficient communities to receive official notices. Several supervisors proposed amendments to include the SF Bayview (Bayview) and to add the Chinese newspapers that submitted bids (China Press, Sing Tao, World Journal), as well as other community papers. OCA and the city attorney staff explained the board has historically amended the recommended list to include additional outreach papers and that the board can either act today (by selecting bidders listed in the packet) or continue the item to allow additional public notice and comment.
Given the outreach importance and outstanding business tax or print‑location issues for some bidders, the committee agreed to continue Items 7–8 for one week to finalize the list of official and outreach publications and any accompanying language for the full Board.
