Three-dot journalism is a term that arose in the 1930s to describe gossip columns that followed the type of format used by Walter Winchell, who reported on New York’s Broadway scene.

However, San Francisco journalist Herb Caen is the one that mastered this form of reporting. His daily column was very similar to that of a weblog, and would be familiar to any weblog aficionado of today.

(The San Francisco Chronicle occasionally reprints classic Caen - here's a 1958 classiccolumn where he coined the word "beatnik."--Doug Millison)

Herb Caen’s format was one long column, divided into 15 to 20 items, separated with: . . . and containing a similar spectrum of content that is found in many blogs today: ranging from what he had for lunch, to rants on social issues that bothered him, or the description of a momentary glimpse of a San Francisco landmark through a break in the fog. (Herb Caen was married many times, but he never left San Francisco, a town he loved, and loved to call “Bagdad-by-the-Bay.” It was a nickname that once had a fair amount of local support, but clearly falls on barren ground today.)

Mr. Caen was was a true journalist; he didn’t stop until he physically could not hammer out his stories on his “Loyal Royal” typewriter. His first column was published in 1938, and Mr. Caen died in 1997, writing his column until almost the very end. He received a special Pulitzer in 1996.

And it was always compelling content. If you lived in San Francisco, you read Herb Caen. It was as simple as that.

Herb Caen’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle was always on the back page of the first section of The Chron, next to the Macy’s ad, and was as inseparable from San Francisco as the crema foam on a North Beach espresso.

It was part of the culture of living in San Francisco, reading Herb’s column at breakfast. If you, or somebody you knew was mentioned in his column, it was a happy day.

And he made it all look so easy--always the mark of a master. The tone of his column was always just right: kind, generous in spirit, yet not shying away from championing social issues, or criticizing a person or politician.

His was a very honest form of journalism because the opinions in his columns were clearly labeled as his own, or those of someone he talked with that day. You knew who his buddies/cronies were, you knew where he ate lunch or dinner yesterday, who sat at the table, who picked up the bill.

It wasn’t just three-dot journalism, it was also what I like to call “up-front journalism,” a term that is sorely needed these days, especially with the crisis in credibility that many news organizations are facing.

Up-front journalism is something that you will see as a key component of the media projects my team and I are working on.

I continue to be inspired by Mr. Caen’s work, his modest, humble attitude, and his dedication to his craft.

Here is an interview with Mr. Caen from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Advertisement: Our affiliate link to Herb Caen books on Amazon.

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