The San Francisco Examiner
For 35 years starting in 1965, the "San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner" operated under a Joint Operating Agreement whereby the "Chronicle" published a morning paper and the "Examiner" published in the afternoon. The "Examiner" published the Sunday paper's news sections and glossy magazine, and the "Chronicle" contributed the features. Circulation was approximately 100,000 on weekdays and 500,000 on Sundays. By 1995, discussion was already brewing in print media about the possible shuttering of the "Examiner" due to low circulation and an extremely disadvantageous revenue sharing agreement for the "Chronicle".
San Francisco newspaper strike of 1994
The striking journalists set up their own online newspaper, the "San Francisco Free Press", and competed with "The Gate" as "the soul of the Examiner and the Chronicle." Led by the "Examiner"'s Associate Editor Bruce Koon and former "SF Weekly" editor Marcelo Rodriguez, they received assistance from Cynsa Bonorris, who coded the html, and Dave Winer, who pitched in helping automate the production process. The team operated from a makeshift newsroom using their own hardware and a local ISP for rented server space.