Long-time San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lance Williams is departing the newspaper for the Berkeley-based Center for Investigative Reporting, according to a release sent today.
A great and prolific reporter (Phil Bronstein described Williams to The Appeal as “a guy who can really crank a story out, fast and good”), Williams might be best known to non-journalism wonks as one of the authors of Game of Shadows, a book that “cracked the steroid scandal wide open.” Williams and his co-author, Mark Fainaru-Wada (who left the Chronicle in 2007), faced down an 18 month prison sentence for their refusal to name their sources to federal prosecutors.
Chronicle Managing Editor Steve Proctor told The Appeal that losing Williams “is a terrible blow for the Chronicle. Lance is one of the finest journalists I’ve worked with in my 30-year career in journalism. We will surely miss him.”
Williams fans take heart: Proctor also told The Appeal that they have spoken with the CIR (headed by Proctor’s Chronicle predecessor, Robert Rosenthal) about collaborating on stories, so “this might not be the last time you see his work in the Chronicle.”
