SF/Weekly's Matt Smith

SF/Weekly’s Matt Smith has never wavered.  He is San Francisco’s most consistent and thorough investigative reporter.  He can knock out 2,000-4,000 word fluid exposes week after week. 

Like reporters Woodward/Bernstein in All the President’s Men, his success is solidly grounded in the investigation phase.  He interviews by listening, not entrapping.  He lets the story unfold, not matching facts or quotes to a point of view.  

I’ve had the opportunity of interviewing him for a TV program. With the tables turned, he showed the same quiet, deliberate style in answering my questions.  Externally unemotional and detached, from the stories I've read, he has a healthy skepticism and distrust for many local institutions.  That explains his large following – a highly informed approach with surprising conclusions.  He is not partisan nor ideological.  Very refreshing in a city dominated by prescribed opinions and high pressured politically proper viewpoints.

Check out Matt Smith’s take on the blood feud between SEIU chief Andy Stern and local union powerhouse Sal Rosselli.