Ted "Teddy" Fang, a gay man who was the former publisher of the San Francisco Examiner and other newspapers, died September 9 in his Dolores Heights home. He was 61.
Mr. Fang is survived by Tony Thompson, his husband of 27 years, and his mother, Florence Fang.
An obituary prepared by the family did not indicate a cause of death, but a spokesperson said it was due to natural causes. It noted that Mr. Fang, who was born on March 13, 1963 and lived in the city all his life, was a brilliant student. He attended Lowell High School in San Francisco and UC Berkeley, where he was an ethnic studies graduate.
Mr. Fang became a leader in the Bay Area's newspaper industry. He negotiated the 1999 acquisition of the San Francisco Examiner, and was pioneering as the nation's first Asian Pacific American publisher of a major metropolitan daily. He oversaw the difficult transition of the daily from a paid to a free circulation business model while sustaining its ability to be an avenue for some of the community's major voices, the obituary noted. Mr. Fang was publisher of one of the nation's largest free distributions of neighborhood newspapers, the San Francisco Independent and San Mateo Independent, the obituary added.
He served as editor and publisher of AsianWeek newspaper in the 2000s, according to his LinkedIn profile, and also worked at the paper as circulation manager and general manager from 1980-1984.
Thomas E. Horn, a gay man who is the former publisher of the Bay Area Reporter, called Mr. Fang "a dear friend."
"When Bob Ross died in 2003 and I was left at the helm of the B.A.R., I turned to Ted for advice," Horn wrote in an email, referring to the founding publisher of the LGBTQ newspaper. "Ted was publisher of AsianWeek. He was so gracious in walking me through all the nuts and bolts of newspaper publishing. I will be forever grateful. I will miss him enormously."
Returning to his family's Chinatown roots, in 2023, Mr. Fang published the archives of AsianWeek.com, 30 years of print and online content from the paper, dubbed the "Voice of Asian Pacific America." The weekly was started by his father; Mr. Fang published it with his mother and brother, James, from 1979 to 2009.
Community work
Mr. Fang is also known for his many contributions to the city and communities of San Francisco, the obituary noted. Mr. Fang was focused on improving the health and well-being of his community. Most recently, he advocated for urban farming at federal and state levels as president of the San Francisco Farm Bureau and, since 2014, directed the Bayview's Florence Fang Community Farm — the city's largest sustainable farm. The Florence Fang Community Farm is the city's first farm certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a model for national efforts in creating food sustainability, the obituary noted.
In 1990, Mr. Fang chaired the old Mobilization Against AIDS, a California-based national advocacy and lobbying organization working to safeguard civil rights and to assure adequate treatment for all HIV-infected individuals, the obituary stated. He went on to co-found SF Hep B Free Campaign in 2007, enabling Asian Pacific American communities to test themselves for hepatitis B. In 2010, the organization launched a new ad campaign, "Which One Deserves to Die," which gained national recognition when it was featured on PBS NewsHour, in the New York Times, and was a winner in the 2010 CLIO Healthcare Awards. The success of this campaign encouraged other cities to launch similar hepatitis B awareness campaigns, the obituary stated.
Mr. Fang was the second son of the late John and Florence Fang, a devoted brother to the late former 24-year BART director James Fang and his wife Daphne; brother the late Douglas Fang and his wife Angela; and uncle to his nephew Sean and niece Allison.
"The family shares their deep appreciation for the many who inspired Ted's devotion to making life better for all communities and neighborhoods," the obituary stated.
Services will be held Saturday, September 21, at Third Baptist Church, 1399 McAllister Street in San Francisco. Viewing will be from 8 to 10 a.m., with the service taking place from 10 a.m. to noon. Attendees are urged to wear masks due to the ongoing COVID and flu season.
Updated, 9/12/24 This article has been updated with information on the memorial service.
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