Introducing the Chronicle's new deputy editorial page editor
We in the Chronicle Opinion section certainly remembered, and we're fortunate to have the talented journalist join our team as its new deputy editorial page editor.
In 2012, Knowles, as a reporter for the Daily, wrote about McDonald's dropping 'lean finely textured beef' — beef treated with ammonia — from its products. The story was noteworthy because it wasn't widely known at the time that what one U.S. Department of Agriculture food inspector derisively called 'pink slime' was being used in the nation's food system.
'My editor asked for a follow-up, and I started talking to the USDA and the scientists at the Food Safety Inspection Service who first gave the product its 'pink slime' nickname,' Knowles told me. 'The USDA, I learned, had ordered millions of dollars worth of it for use in the national school lunch program.'
Knowles, who started at the Chronicle on June 16, is now an editor himself — and will be responsible for curating op-ed contributions. He will also be a member of the editorial board, helping it make decisions about who to support during its political endorsement process.
While plenty of political opinions are offered as op-eds, Knowles said he is also drawn to pieces that tell a unique story that elicit empathy from a reader.
'They can be personal reflections, policy positions from an expert or conclusions born of a life experience,' Knowles said. 'What I'm not interested in are pieces that don't make a good faith effort to understand the points being made by others on a given topic.'
Knowles said he's excited to help inform readers from the opinion side of journalism.
'People are bombarded with information in their daily lives,' he said. 'Newspaper opinion sections can help them focus on what's important, delight them with stories they wouldn't have heard otherwise and provide a platform where people can chime in on the issues that help shape the community.'
Knowles is a longtime Bay Area resident and grew up in San Francisco.
'The Outer Sunset was colder and less inviting back then,' he said. 'Today, you have more options for where to eat and what to do. Fortunately, some things haven't changed. The Camera Obscura, the subject of my first novel, is still standing.'
Have an idea for an op-ed? Run it by David.Knowles@sfchronicle.com.
Questions about Letters to the Editor or the Opinion section: hmok@sfchronicle.com
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