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Frustrated New Yorker Sues Apple, Claiming Siri Doesn't Understand S**t

​Earlier this week, Apple's latest gadget, the loose-lipped and prudish Siri, was slammed by the Northern California ACLU for knowing a little too much about you -- and then sharing those personal tidbits with Apple. But over on the East Coast where people are arguably less patient, Siri users are ... More >>

News Sites Can't Rely on Advertising

​I'm not about to pretend that I know how to solve the economic dilemma that the news business finds itself in. I've been studying the matter, and writing about it off and on, for 16 years, and, like everyone, I really don't know. Maybe it will be nonprofits. Maybe paywalls. Maybe micropayments wi ... More >>

Greyhound Lovers to Protest S.F. Skechers Store over Super Bowl Ad

Greyhound lovers everywhere want Skechers to dump its new Super Bowl ad before it airs on Feb. 5 -- and it's not necessarily because they'd rather see a sweaty Kim Kardashian on screen.The group is upset by the fact that the ad was shot at a racetrack in Tucson, Ariz., which the group claims mistrea ... More >>

The British Have Way More Latitude in TV Commercials Than We Do -- See Their Best

If you find American TV spots entertaining and clever, you should see the brief bits of brilliance concocted by the whiz kids on the other side of the Atlantic. The British Arrows Awards (a more colorful and less literal moniker than its predecessor, the British Television Advertising Awards) presen ... More >>

Teacher Bus, Take Me Away!

If you find American TV spots entertaining and clever, you should see the brief bits of brilliance concocted by the whiz kids on the other side of the Atlantic. The British Arrows Awards (a more colorful and less literal moniker than its predecessor, the British Television Advertising Awards) presen ... More >>

Is There Too Much Food Media?

The Chew stars some famous chefs and, OMG, What Not to Wear's Clinton Kelly!​Two food-themed television networks. Chef-branded food magazines. Food apps. A new food-themed lifestyle show on ABC called The Chew. Is it all getting too much?Earlier this week, Adweek asked that very question, del ... More >>

Evolution and Big Media

The Chew stars some famous chefs and, OMG, What Not to Wear's Clinton Kelly!​Two food-themed television networks. Chef-branded food magazines. Food apps. A new food-themed lifestyle show on ABC called The Chew. Is it all getting too much?Earlier this week, Adweek asked that very question, del ... More >>

Groupon Google Ads Pulls a Bait And Switch, Lawsuit Says

Bait and switch​Groupon is being accused of defrauding consumers by purchasing advertisements on Google for services the company did not offer, according to a federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco. A Google search for "San Francisco Tours" on Feb. 24, for example, purportedly returned the followi ... More >>

John Dennis, Republican Challenger to Nancy Pelosi, Seeks YouTube Fame

Will John Dennis be our next Congressman, or next YouTube laugh riot -- or both?​Harking to the analogies you probably last dealt with on the SAT, John Dennis is to Nancy Pelosi as squirrel is to highway-driving big rig. The Republican Congressional candidate will not beat the Speaker of the House ... More >>

Pot Ads on Muni? They're Already on BART -- So Why Not?

Coming to a Muni bus near you?​SF Weekly's Chris Roberts yesterday reported that a local medical marijuana delivery service impresario has gotten his ads cleared to run on Muni vehicles. Not so fast, says Muni spokesman Paul Rose. Yes, Kevin Reed of the Green Cross has approached Titan Outdoor, wh ... More >>

Facebook Nips Marijuana Legalization Ads In the Bud

Facebook banned ads like these​Facebook may have unrivaled access to young, liberal voters, but the social networking site is now ensuring those potential supporters of pot legalization never see a marijuana leaf in political ads on the site. While critics are pulling out the online petitions and ... More >>

Zynga Fingers Ad Agency for Alleged 'Mafia Wars' Sidewalk Vandalism

The city attorney sends his regards...​We reported here yesterday on accusations against social-gaming company Zynga by the San Francisco City Attorney's office. The city is ready to go to the mattresses over alleged vandalism of city property carried out as part of an advertising campaign by the ... More >>

Yelp Announces Changes ― Are They Enough to Satisfy Class-Action Plaintiffs?

Three separate lawsuits accuse Yelp of strong-arming potential advertisers.​Are lawyers in the class-action suit against Yelp smelling victory? Yesterday, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman announced the user review giant would drop the "Favorite Review" feature and let readers see the reviews that w ... More >>

Magazine Publishers Compare the Internet to 'Instant Coffee'

I am going to get offline right now and buy a magazine. ​Imagine that you are the head of a American magazine publishing company. You publish  Vogue, or Sports Illustrated, or National Geographic. Your ad revenue has plummeted. You  have recently shuttered several magazines. The Web site ... More >>

Robert Crumb

I am going to get offline right now and buy a magazine. ​Imagine that you are the head of a American magazine publishing company. You publish  Vogue, or Sports Illustrated, or National Geographic. Your ad revenue has plummeted. You  have recently shuttered several magazines. The Web site ... More >>

Craigslist Previews Self-Authenticating Ad Listing

www.tennesseelawman.comSo, you can't spell 'polygraph' -- but tell me, does this thing work? With the convenience of shopping via Craigslist comes the cost of bogus online claims and exaggerations. In this Craigslist-ese sub-dialect, "Canine-gnawed, smelly monstrosity" becomes "Vintage Queen Anne co ... More >>

Dos Equis 'Interesting Man' is Entirely Too Common

Interesting men are all too common latelyI'll admit it -- I listen to a lot of Energy 92.7. And over the past weeks and months, that's meant I've been repeatedly subjected to Dos Equis' "Interesting Man," commercials. You know, the one's about the old guy guy with the spray-on tan w ... More >>

You Don't Have to Be a Psychologist to Figure Out the Deeper Meanings of Giants' TV Ads

Let's be honest, the Giants could use this guy, too. The San Francisco Giants' entire ad campaign used to boil down to "Come watch: We Got Barry." Now the overriding message is, "Come watch: Barry's gone." A quartet of new Giants ads have been playing on San Francisco screens, and the theme coul ... More >>

Does 'CHP' Stand for 'Can't Help Punning'?

Y'know Ponch, if Marshall McLuhan is right and 'The medium is the message' -- then any advice we give to high school kids probably won't be received warmlyPoor California Highway Patrol -- they just want us to drive safely, be considerate, and, would it kill us to occasionally compliment them on the ... More >>

Pro-Palestinians Co-Opt (Vandalize) Israeli Propaganda

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

Newsrack fee hike could create more empty boxes

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

Clifford’s World

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

New Times CFO: Our Rates Went Up, Not Down

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

What the Controller Saw

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

Redmond Under Oath: "Weekly Has No Soul"

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

Jury Selection Under Way in Weekly Trial

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Announced: Includes Madonna, Leonard Cohen and John "Douchebag" Mellencamp

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

RIAA's purse strings clipped? Pretty please?

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

'Daily Kos' Profile -- From Michael Moore to El Salvador, Berkeley Blog Creates Digital Community

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

$50K on Anti-Drinking Ads: Yeah, That'll Make a Dent

 The description of the suspected vandal: A male in a red bodysuit with portrait of a spider on his chest...A little while ago we wrote about the Clear Channel "Visit Israel" billboards along Highway 101, with their breezy Israeli girls strutting above the motto "Different From t ... More >>

Hypocritical Mass

Bruce Brugmann attacked us for doing business with Clear Channel--but didn't bother to mention he'd done the same thing.

Freebie Fight

Bruce Brugmann attacked us for doing business with Clear Channel--but didn't bother to mention he'd done the same thing.

Green Like Me

Bruce Brugmann attacked us for doing business with Clear Channel--but didn't bother to mention he'd done the same thing.

Big Pharma

A competent performance depressed by a one-sided argument

Pageant

The only original part is that audience members bother to laugh

The Queer Movie Poster Book

A colorful read, with visuals from major studio fare and obscure flicks

It's the Journalism, Bruce

Why Bruce Brugmann and his Bay Guardian are (by their own admission) failing

It's the Journalism, Bruce

Why Bruce Brugmann and his Bay Guardian are (by their own admission) failing

Porn to Sell

Product placement comes to adult videos...hey, watch where you put that thing!

South to the Future

Military to Form PC Corps

Commercial Success

Off pop music's radar for eight years, San Francisco's Voice Farm has slipped into the background of background music

Dog Bites

Off pop music's radar for eight years, San Francisco's Voice Farm has slipped into the background of background music

Sails Pitch

Born to sell, would-be America's Cup skipper Dawn Riley puts her birthright to work

REAL ASTROLOGY For an Unreal World

Born to sell, would-be America's Cup skipper Dawn Riley puts her birthright to work

Fish Story

Red Herring Editor Tony Perkins is a self-described maverick, a stylish fast-talker with a knack for making friends and influencing people in the high-tech world. Not bad traits for a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, but are they what it takes to publish a "m

Fazio's Cablevision

How Bill Fazio went from unknown to contender

Chatterbox

How Bill Fazio went from unknown to contender

Mondo 1995 (Part II)

Mondo 2000 nailed the emerging cybersexcomputerdrug zeitgeist with its first issue in 1989, making media mavens out of its founders, Queen Mu and R.U. Sirius. But the trippy, fractious family that was Mondo began to implode in 1993, torn asunder bu inter

Two-bit rag

The Examiner's desperate circulation struggle