Kenneth E. Grubbs, Jr.

Kenneth E. Grubbs, Jr. is the Editorial Page Editor of The San Francisco Examiner.

Prior to his firing in July 2004, Grubbs, Jr. was Director of the National Journalism Center that trains emerging right-wing journalists and assists in finding them jobs in conservative and mainstream media outlets.

The National Journalism Center is now a project of the Young America's Foundation (YAF). According to Grubbs biographical profile on the YAF website, was "former Associate Editor of Investors Business Daily, former Vice President and Editorial Director of The Orange County Register and former Editor-in-Chief of World Trade Magazine".

Background
"Grubbs has also served as National Edition Editor and Deputy Editorial Page Editor of The Washington Times, Editorial Page Editor of The Anaheim Bulletin, Editor of The New Guard, Staff Writer for Human Events and Editor and Publisher of Greenhow Newspapers (two dailies, five weeklies and six shoppers distributed in upstate New York)", his biographical note stated.

"Grubbs is a former Chairman of the World Affairs Council of Orange County, a founder and former Vice President of The Orange County Forum and a former Director, Senior Fellow and past chair of the Media Advisory Committee of the Pacific Research Institute. He is a member of the Philadelphia Society and the Pacific Council of International Policy. He has been appointed a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, has lectured at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and holds an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from City University Los Angeles", the website stated.

In July 2004, Grubbs was fired after criticizing the Washington Times regarding its coverage of a bizarre event when the the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who owns the Times, proclaimed himself the Messiah, declared that Marx, Lenin, Hitler and Stalin had converted to his religion in the "spirit world," and then had himself crowned by a congressman.

Grubbs wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal stating that Moon's "recent outburst of profane self-exaltation--including chats with Hitler and Stalin--has got to be freshly embarrassing to the many fine journalists who work at the Times."

The President of Young America's Foundation, Ron Robinson was not amused and sacked Grubbs. "I don't view the role of director as criticizing the media, writing commentaries attacking the media," Robinson told Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post. Robinson complained that such comments would make it harder for the NJC to find placements for interns.

According to Grubbs, Robinson told him that his WSJ opinion column "impugned their (The Washington Times) integrity". Grubbs said of Robinson "I don't think he understands journalism".