William Randolph Hearst took over The Daily Examiner in 1887 (at age 23) from his father, George Hearst, who by some accounts is said to have accepted it as payment for a gambling debt. The paper was subequently renamed The San Francisco Examiner.
After the great earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Franciso, The San Francisco Examiner and its erstwhile rival, The Chronicle, brought out a joint edition. For 35 years starting in 1965(?) the The San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner operated under a Joint Operating Agreement whereby The Chronicle published a morning paper and The San Francisco Examiner published an afternoon paper.
In 2000 Ted Fang obtained the Examiners name, its archives, 35 delivery trucks and a subsidy of $66 million (over two years) as part of the Hearst corporation's acquisition of The Chronicle. Soon the Examiner shrank drastically in size, becoming tabloid format. The Chronicle Publishing Company, owner of The Chronicle newspaper, has been a privately-held, family-run company since the DeYoung family first published The Chronicle in 1865.
Last day of the Hearst Corporation owned Examiner: November 21, 2000