Bay News Movement Founding Editor, Greg Zeman, takes notes at the “Rally to Support Freedom, Democracy and Justice in Yemen and the Middle East/North Africa,” at UN Plaza/Civic Center, San Francisco, March 26, 2011.
Founding Editor
Greg Zeman is a freelance journalist and editorialist with a tendency to dream big and scribble on paper napkins—habits that intersected during the summer of 2011 when he jotted down some wild ideas for a new kind of news organization and shared them with two of his most trusted and capable colleagues; Ramsey El-Qare and Alex Emslie.
Their vigorous debates and dialectics about the ethical and stylistic shortcomings of commercial news media, the unique civic obligations of journalists and the value of a truly free press to the cause of social justice culminated in the first expression of the core goals, principles and ethics that now animate the work of the Bay News Movement.
Zeman, who most recently served as Managing Editor of the landmark community publication El Tecolote—A progressive, bilingual newspaper serving the Latino/a community in San Francisco’s Mission District—strives to tell socially conscious, culturally relevant stories that give voice to people and politics often overlooked by commercial news outlets.
He believes that journalism is a powerful social force with the ability to revitalize or undermine the growth and empowerment of marginalized causes and communities, so he does his very best to wield it responsibly.
Zeman met his fellow Bay News Movement founders during a year-long tenure at The Guardsman, an award-winning, city-wide publication serving the students, staff and faculty of the largest two-year college in the country—City College of San Francisco.
Zeman wore many hats at The Guardsman: he started out as a contributing writer, worked his way up to the head of the News Desk and then served a term as Editor-in-Chief.
As Editor-in-Chief, he lead The Guardsman Editorial Board in taking strong, progressive stances backed up by meticulous research and initiated an overhaul of the paper’s graphic layout and content to make it more attractive, accessible and relevant to readers.
During this time, the publication was recognized by the Journalism Association of Community Colleges for journalistic excellence, and Zeman personally received several awards and recognitions, including a first-place On-the-spot Opinion Writing Award at the 2010 JACC Norcal Conference.
He continued his mission of providing meaningful information and analysis on stories of political and social importance at El Tecolote, a paper he served in many capacities for over two years. As Managing Editor, he spearheaded a year-long expansion of community and youth input and oversaw the standardization of content submission procedures and style, providing vision and direction during a uniquely challenging period of financial strain and organizational transition.
His time at El Tecolote taught him invaluable lessons about organizational management and effective community outreach and reinvigorated his belief in the power of brave, thoughtfully produced news stories to catalyze the exchange of ideas and inspire faith in democratic, people-based solutions to the challenges facing our neighborhoods, our nation and the world.
He and his colleagues have pledged to pursue and promote the truth through their efforts to build The Movement and to embody its creed of “answering questions and questioning answers” in their work as journalists.
Zeman currently resides in San Bruno, where he writes articles, essays, short stories and expansive manifestos—while still finding time to scribble new ideas on the occasional paper napkin.
Cell: (505) 401-4918
Toll-free: (888) 519-7785
Email: Greg.Zeman@BayNewsMovement.org
