Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Elena Kadvany is a food editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. But of late, her work has taken what some would consider a dark turn. The SF Bay Area Author has focused on what has to be the deliberate harm of two notable Black Chefs in Oakland, California, Immana Ewart and Matt Horn.
Elena Kadvany and her transformation from a celebrated journalist to a divisive figure in news, undoutedly fuled by San Francisco Chronicle managers, has ignited concerns over media bias, particularly against Black chefs and business owners (See Davey D’s take down of the SF Chronicle here at ZennieReport.com). Once known for her daring journalism, Kadvany’s recent work has increasingly cast what many consider to be a racist shadow over Oakland’s Black entrepreneurs, fueled by her explicit disdain for the city and its community leaders.
Putting Elena Kadvany’s Attacks In Perspective Before We Continue
To put it bluntly, African American independent chefs are part of a very small, but growing number of late.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are 33.2 million American businesses in 2023, of which 99 percent are small businesses in 2023. And of that, 6,102,412 businesses had at least one paid employee in 2019, the last time such a count was made. And of those numbers, in 2021, America had 375,000 black-owned restaurants in 2020 according to the National Restaurant Association.
The good news is that number represents 8 percent of all restaurants in America, But despite their growth and success, black-owned restaurants face many challenges, including access to capital, limited exposure and visibility, and high competition. Given those challenges, why would the San Francisco Chronicle dispatch Kadvany, and a large set of writers, to launch questionable attacks against two prominent black business owners in Oakland?
Moreover, why doesn’t the San Francisco Chronicle have Elena Kadvany look at white owned Oakland restaurant businesses, or Asian restaurant businesses, with the same scrutiny? It’s reported that 90% of women and 70% of men, have reportedly experienced harassment in the workplace in the American Restaurant Industry. From a statistical perspective, that means it’s a “sure thing” that Elena Kadvany would have found some alleged employment problem in any Oakland restaurant.
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United claims that of women who face harassment in their work at a restaurant, more than half experience it on a weekly basis. So where’s Elena Kadvany with her focus on, well, any Oakland restaurant? Why target two black Oakland restaurant owners?
Allegations Of Elena Kadvany Using Her White Privilege To Target Those Without
Critics tell Zennie62Media that Elena Kadvany has benefited from white privilege and often targets those who lack such advantages, imposing on them the burden to work twice as hard for recognition. This stark contrast has raised significant concerns about her fairness and motivations in reporting, and that for the San Francisco Chronicle, as a whole.
A significant controversy in Kadvany’s recent career is her coverage of Immana Ewart, the talented Black chef-owner of Hi Felicia. Kadvany’s article, “Inside the Shocking Rise and Fall of One of the Wildest Restaurants Ever Seen,” laden with unsubstantiated claims and inflammatory rhetoric, sparked considerable backlash. This led to the closure of Ewart’s restaurant and had a profound impact on her mental health.
Moreover, Kadvany’s reporting on Horn Barbecue, owned by celebrated Black entrepreneur Chef Matt Horn, has also faced severe criticism. Following an arson attack that devastated the restaurant, the inflammatory reporting by Jessica Flores of the SF Chronicle many believe played a pivotal role. Flores highlighted a contentious Instagram post by Horn that criticized vandalism, which many believe exacerbated tensions, leading to the arson.
Is Elena Kadvany Protecting David Kim, Matt Horn’s Former Friend?
This critical event unfolded just a day before Horn planned to distribute hundreds of free turkeys to the community, illustrating the detrimental timing and impact of the negative press. Despite the emotional toll the incident took on him and his family, Chef Horn and his team, visibly drained, still showed up to serve the community, handing out hundreds of free turkeys as planned. This act of resilience and commitment in the face of adversity highlighted the stark contrast between the real character of Chef Horn and his portrayal in the media.
Later, and after mentioning the lawsuit former Matt Horn friend David Kim launched against Horn Barbecue, Elena Kadvany strangely left out mention of Mr. Kim after the Oakland Fire Department officially called the Horn Barbecue Fire the work of an arsonist. Was the San Francisco Chronicle paid to protect David Kim and echo his narrative about Horn Barbecue? It’s a fair question that has not been answered, especially since Hearst Corporation owns Hearst DMS, which does reputation management for clients, and brags about the 70 newspapers it owns, writing:
As the publisher of over 70 local newspapers and countless local directories across the country, we are not just knowledgeable about the communities we serve; we’re a part of them. This translates into a more personalized experience for our clients and local insights that increase the effectiveness of their online marketing campaigns.
Source: https://hearstdms.com/solutions
Elena Kadvany’s Horn Barbecue Reporting Looks Like An Attempt To Take Down Matt Horn
Recent stories by Kadvany about Horn Barbecue have focused on alleged debts, legal battles, and unverified accusations from past disgruntled employees, which upon closer investigation, reveal personal grievances rather than legitimate critiques of Horn’s business practices. Such reporting perpetuates the damaging stereotype of the financially unstable Black entrepreneur and erodes the image of Black business success.
By portraying Black businesses as perpetually in debt and poorly managed, this narrative not only misleads but also harms, overlooking the systemic challenges they face, particularly in accessing capital and resources more readily available to other groups.
Despite her understanding of the challenges that Oakland businesses encounter, Kadvany continues to negatively depict the community and its leaders, damaging their reputations and promoting narratives that obstruct their efforts to drive positive change.
The ramifications of biased reporting extend beyond economic harm, historically leading to real-world violence and discrimination against Black communities. This emphasizes the urgent need for reform in journalism to ensure fairness and equity.
The ongoing controversy surrounding Kadvany has spurred calls for her resignation or a formal apology, reflecting broader demands for media accountability and ethical journalism. The role of the press in shaping public perception and policy is critical, making journalistic integrity paramount.
San Francisco Chronicle Practice Of Trying To Make Black-Owned Businesses Look Bad Is Pure Racism
The San Francisco Chronicle and its affiliates have honed the practice of emphasizing the shortcomings of Black-owned businesses while lauding others for overcoming similar challenges. Kadvany’s rationale for soliciting negative feedback from past employees, simply because “Matt Horn is a famous chef,” is both irresponsible and perilous. This practice is not merely an ethical lapse by an individual journalist but indicative of a larger, systemic issue that requires immediate comprehensive corrective action.
But Elena Kadvany is not the only San Francisco Chronicle reporter who is guilty of such a racist pose in her and the organization’s managers selection of small black Oakland restaurant company Horn Barbecue to pick on. Famed Hip Hop Journalist Davey D has pointed to Madilynne Medina here in ZennieReport.com. And another observer has shared the name of Cesar Hernandez, and more information pointing to the racist targeting of Horn Barbecue.
Eight months ago, Cesar Hernandez blasted Horn Barbecue-owned Matty’s Old Fashioned (now the new location of Horn Barbecue in Downtown Oakland) for charging $19 for a hot dog. But the same writer turns around and praises Sandy’s New Orleans Sandwich Shop in San Francisco for sandwiches called “Muffuletta’s” that range between $14, $26, and a whopping $99 (which puts the price average at $44 or more than double the Matty’s offering) as “amazing” and “might make you feel like you’ve gone to therapy.”
In addition, when Cesar Hernandez wrote about Matty’s, it was a week after it opened, yet he posted the article a full month later, and when the $19 burger was removed from the menu. Yet, Mr. Hernandez never updated his post.
Is Matt Horn Suffering From White Employee Discrimination Against Him?
And those who defend the SF Chronicle’s racist pose on social media always go by fake names, which means in the case of Horn Barbecue they could be part of the “male employees” as described by a source, who quit Horn Barbecue because they reportedly didn’t like taking orders from African American Matt Horn. That falls in line with findings by a University of Chicago Study which has statistics that report:
We find evidence of discriminatory sorting by white job seekers but not by black job seekers. For employees with their hiring managers, we find small and statistically insignificant effects of manager race on the quit rates of both black and white employees. Among employees with new managers, the black quit rate is again unaffected by whether or not the manager is black. However, the quit rate of whites is 15% higher under new black managers than under new nonblack managers.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/605946
While the study also reports that black managers tend to hire black employees, Matt Horn’s employment practices did not reflect that finding: most of his top employees and chefs were white or not black, but another color.
Elena Kadvany And The Untold Involvement Of Hearst Corporation Digital Marketing and Reputation Management Companies
Clouding this story of Elena Kadvany and Horn Barbecue is the curious and apparent obsession the San Francisco Chronicle has with the firm, and to the point of putting an inordinate number of reporters on any story about the firm and Mr. Horn from that perspective. The question is why? Matt Horn is not a household name like Gordon Ramsey. He doesn’t have a TV show and Horn Barbecue does not have a signature location in Las Vegas.
The point is, Horn Barbecue does not move the Internet traffic needle at this point. So the San Francisco Chronicle can’t claim to make enough money from Matt Horn or Horn Barbecue-generated Internet traffic to justify paying for as many as seven writers, including Elena Kadvany, to write posts about them. So why the interest?
The reason may be tied to Hearst-owned companies like 46 Mile and Hearst Digital Media Services, aka Hearst DMS. Both have been credited with the Chronicle’s revenue rebound. In 2008, and up to 2016, the firm lost as much as $12 million. Threats of closure were in the air. But then the managers turned around the fortunes of the firm. One of the reasons was noted to be 46 Mile.
An article in the 2017 Columbia Journalism Review quoted San Francisco Chronicle and Hearst Corporation staffers as pointing to 46Mile as a key revenue generator. Note:
Chronicle executives are also excited about the early performance of 46Mile, an agency similar to those owned by Hearst in Houston and four other markets. The target client is a small or medium-sized business that’s never hired a marketing firm before.
The agency opened for business three years ago. It had $2 million in sales in its first year, $4 million in its second, and is projected to have $6 million in its third, Johnson says. “We hope it will grow to be about a $20 million revenue stream, which would be significant to us.”
Source: https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/san-francisco-chronicle.php
While then Editor Audrey Cooper claimed that what 46 Mile does is separate from the editorial department, the work of Hearst DMS, which (as explained) openly says it does reputation management and points to the ownership of 70 newspapers, was not mentioned in the 2017 Columbia Journalism Review article. Nor was another Hearst Corporation company mentioned called Invue Digital. Here’s what it reported about itself, on its own website:
We have the ability to recruit and hire the best of the best.
As a digital marketing provider to some of Hearst’s largest media companies, we have an incoming stream of clients from around the country.
We are a small agency, but with Hearst we become big. This allows us special partnerships with Google, Bing, Kenshoo, Moz, Facebook and others. We utilize these partnerships to elevate our clients campaign success.
We can connect our clients with Hearst’s vast network of media companies around the world, all in an effort to help grow their business.
We are secure. Security gives us freedom. Freedom to think outside the box, go above and beyond, and make the right decisions on behalf of our clients.
When you work with InVue, you will quickly learn you’ve made the right choice. We are driven by results and client satisfaction. Our goal is to meet and exceed your goals. If we don’t do that, we fail. We don’t like to fail, we like to win. Our experience has shown us that the only way to win is with the best people, a motivating atmosphere, and passion for our client’s success.
Whether you’re looking for a partner, or already have one, we would love to learn more about your goals. We are always up for a new challenge!
Source: https://invuedigital.com/story/
It’s important to note that no mention was made of any intent to work separate from the editorial side of the business. Instead, Invue openly says that it is driven by results, and have the freedom to think outside the box. That could mean targeting news stories for paying clients is within the realm of possibility.
Is that what’s happening in the case of Horn Barbecue? Were Hearst Corporation companies hired by David Kim’s lawyers? And did associates of former employees of Hi Felicia hire the same firms? At this point, there’s enough smoke to point to a possible fire. If these companies are generating that kind of revenue, and in the case of 46 Mile credited for it, what’s to stop them from molding news for a client?
Assuming that Hearst Corporation is doing just that, molding news for a client, it explains how it could pay to have so many writers focus on Horn Barbecue. Some client is paying for it via one or more than one of Hearst Corporation’s digital media firms.
According to Zennie62Media CEO Zennie Abraham, 46 Mile was hired to make sponsored ads promoting an eight-year-old SFGate article which accused Berkeley Councilmember Ben Bartlett of using his position to get out of a traffic ticket. If one went to Google and searched ‘Ben Bartlett Berkeley’, they found the sponsored post ad. The ad ran during the campaign, and stopped just after the 2024 California Primary voting day.
Mr. Abraham, a noted friend of Councilmember Bartlett, said he learned this by discovering the sponsored ad itself, which was running as Councilmember Barlett was running for the Alameda County Supervisor seat vacated by Keith Carson. “There’s a way one can tell who posted such an ad. I found it and the result was “Hearst Corporation dba 46 Mile”, where “dba” is “doing business as”. It’s obvious 46 Mile was paid to make Councilmember Bartlett look bad by digging up an old SFGate article.”
Zennie Abraham also said that “The Calfornia Fair Political Practices Commission told me that 46 Mile was to file a Forum 701 document reporting its political advocacy work and form whom, but it had not done so. It had until January 31st of 2025 to do so.”
If that’s the case, it opens a new set of questions about what these Hearst Corporation firms are doing and who for? How many political candidates have they helped? Did they routinely attack Black political candidates? Whatever the answer, the fact is that Hearst Corporation-owned firms 46 Mile, Invue Digital, and Hearst DMS comprise a powerful revenue generator for the firm, and it is clear that the very way they do news has been impacted, and the reasons why as well.