SFist's social media accounts post cryptic hint at site's return

The archives of SFist, whose news operations were shut down in November 2017. Scroll ahead to see the most dramatic changes San Francisco has seen in the past decade. The archives of SFist, whose news operations were shut down in November 2017. Scroll ahead to see the most dramatic changes San Francisco has seen in the past decade. Photo: SFist.com Photo: SFist.com Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close SFist's social media accounts post cryptic hint at site's return 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

SFist is ... back?

After former owner and billionaire Joe Ricketts abruptly shuttered the site along with other Gothamist and DNAinfo sites in November 2017, it appears that the local San Francisco news outlet might be preparing for a relaunch.

SFist halted operations more than a year ago, just a week after staffers at Gothamist (SFist's parent publication) and DNAinfo voted to unionize. It was a closure that left SFist's homepage a static archive of its posts dating back to 2014.

But that wasn't the end of the story. In February, WNYC in New York (with KPCC in Southern California and WAMU in Washington D.C.) acquired Gothamist and DNAinfo, as well as the archives of the other sites, including SFist. Since then, the radio stations have been seeking buyers for the other properties.

RELATED: Local news site SFist abruptly shuts down

Then on Friday, the official SFist Twitter account posted an update, more than a year after its last tweet. The post featured no text, but rather a photograph of a mock newspaper with the headline "SFist.com returns." The accompanying article doesn't offer further details of the revival the headline suggests, but states that, "SFist is back and more committed than ever..."

It's not clear who purchased SFist. The site went live on Monday with a new layout, though it has not been updated with new articles.

RELATED: SFist orphaned by public radio deal to buy Gothamist

SFist's former editor Eve Batey is not involved with any purchase, but told SFGATE on Monday that she's "happy to hear [WNYC] found a buyer for SFist."

If SFist is relaunched, it will join Gothamist (covering New York), LAist and DCist as an active site formerly under the Gothamist brand. Another site formerly owned by Ricketts, Chicagoist, was purchased by Chance the Rapper in July, as he formally announced in the song "I Might Need Security." That site has not yet been relaunched.

SFGATE has reached out to its new ownership for details.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

