Freebie Fight

Last month, as part of his relentless crusade to build The Blandest Media Empire on Earth™, Examinerowner Phil Anschutz unveiled another free newspaper in San Francisco. The City Star, published every weekday, features front-page ads, cuddly profiles of local merchants, and a mix of city, state, and national news.

Sound familiar? Consider the San Francisco Daily, a free newspaper launched last May; it's published every weekday and features front-page ads, cuddly profiles of local merchants, and a mix of — well, you know.

The Star, while closely resembling the Daily, also shadows its circulation zone — each distributes about 6,500 copies from West Portal to the Marina. But there are a few distinctions. The Star runs a Pringle-thin 12 pages; relies on wire services for its stories; and belongs to Denver gazillionaire Anschutz, who has sired free dailies in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The Daily, by contrast, runs 24 to 32 pages; employs two staff writers; and owes its life to co-owners Jim Pavelich and Dave Price, veteran newsmen who financed it by selling a cluster of free Bay Area dailies last year.

Oh, and there's one other difference: It appears the Star was born to kill its competition. Or so contend Pavelich and Price. They claim that many of the Daily's 200-plus advertisers have related stories of spurning Starsales reps seeking to woo them, allegedly with lowball prices. According to the duo, the Star has offered to run quarter-page ads for as little as $100 a month for three months, with another year free.

The Daily asks about $500 a month for similar-sized ads (a fraction of what the Examiner and Chronicle charge), but so far, only two advertisers have crossed over, Pavelich and Price say. Still, they're worried. "We welcome honest competition," Price explains. "But when the other guy can sell ads that cheap and doesn't mind taking the loss, what can you do?"

John Wilcox, the Examiner's publisher and president, denies the allegations, insisting the Star charges rates comparable to the Daily's and pursues its own advertisers. "We're taking the high road," he says.

Unconvinced, Pavelich and Price say they hope to shame the Star into reforming. If that fails, litigation may follow. Just imagine that docket entry: Two Ink-Stained Underdogs v. The Blandest Media Empire on Earth™. Good times.