Keep After Your Dream

Did you ever envision that someday you would be the youngest woman in U.S. history to run a major metro newsroom?

Yeah, I saw it all coming ....... No! Oh my gosh. The first editor I had said: "Well, one day you'll be an editor." I said: "No way would I ever do that. I will never be in editor." And I saw him the other day in the newsroom, and he's like: "I told you that you would be an editor." And I was like: "Okay, turns out you knew something." No I didn't. I applied to be an intern at the Chronicle three years in college. And I got rejected.

Did you really?

I didn't even get rejected. I just got nothing. I didn't even get a reply.

They didn't even bother to like, say anything you.

Three years. And when my husband and I moved here... I'd only been here as like a child. And he said: "Where do you want to go in San Francisco?" And the first thing I said is: "I want to go to 5th & Mission, and see the Chronicle building." And then when I saw it, I was like: "That's it?" But that's not the point. I wanted to work there from the very beginnings. But no, you can never imagine that. But I also don't like having bosses very much. So, I always thought like, well I can see what they're doing, and I would like to try to do that. So...

That's got to feel pretty good. You got turned down, or you didn't even get a reply to try to be an intern at the Chronicle, and now you run the Chronicle.

I always joke that someday I'm going to meet that intern coordinator. I still remember her name. I won't say it. But someday I'm going to meet so-and-so, and say... I mean, she was probably right. I probably wasn't ready. But now I take a huge interest in our interns. And I tell them all that story. And I'm like: "You're already ahead of me, where I was, so you guys will be fine."