Tech writer axed for thinking

SF Chronicle dumps Norr

By Ashlee Vance in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 25th April 2003 02:55 GMT

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The San Francisco Chronicle today sacked technology reporter Henry Norr in an apparent response to his protests against the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The paper suspended Norr after he took a sick day and then joined in the large scale protests here last month.

A paper spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for the decision in an interview with Reuters.

Norr's reporting was some of the best the Chronicle had to offer. He approached a wide range of technology with skepticism and wrote in a way that everyone could understand.

While his dissmisal from the paper has ties to the immediate conflict in Iraq, Norr's removal may actually be the result of a long-standing feud with the management.

The Examiner reported that Norr's card had been marked since writing about Intel's second largest fab outside the USA, at what is now called Qiryat Gat. It's built on Arab land that became known as the 'Faluja Pocket'.

Norr also made pro-Palestine statements that angered co-workers, according to The Examiner .

After the San Francisco rallies, Norr made his way to Oakland, and was shot by police with a wooden dowel while taking part in a peaceful protest.

Effectively San Francisco's sole daily paper (The Examiner having laid off most of its staff) can use all the help it can get, and firing writers for expressing their opinions in their own time is a strange way for the Chronicle to signal its relevance to the city. ®