The real problem with Oregon media might be called "brain drain." If you're a really, really terrific journalist, you'll probably get out of a small-market town like Portland and move up the greasy pole. The bigger markets of SF and LA beckon...and you might just make the cut for the big-time in NYC or DC.
After our riot-year, Covid lockdowns that decimated the cute small biz, and general uniformity of what gets covered as "news"--plus the evident low quality of newsroom leadership...well, this isn'rt a very alluring place to sink any roots.
Comes down to a simple question: would you rather work long hours for lousy pay under Therese Bottomly or at the pinnacle under Baquet (or his colorless successor)?
To paraphrase, the first step is to admit that you are the problem(s). Instead our leaders go tromping about like Oedipus determined to locate the cause of the Theban plague. And, like Oedipus they needn't travel further than the bathroom mirror. Alas.
This bumnav biz reads lucrative. Wish I had dreamed it up and were getting a slice. Puts me in mind of Maxine Waters living in the 37th District while "serving" the 43rd. When you fully decode her text you find that it is a cookbook. She's gotten a good living keeping down those who inhabit the 43rd. Skimming cream, not only gets you rich but gets a reputation as a helluva swell guy or gal. Keep your boot on the throat of an underdog and charge admission while you skin 'em for the pot.
All you need to know about local journalism is that they burned Packwood for getting drunk, squeezing his eyes shut, puckering into fish lips, and going for a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey smooch. Goldschmidt goes full Polanski and gets a pass for a quarter century plus. Mark Hatfield, well Hatfield....we don't want to talk or write about that.
The busting out of school racket is a good one, too. Look at all the trouble Bueller had whereas these kids just hold hands and skip right on out the door. Ferris inserted himself in the parade but our kids are the parade. Progress.
I've watched over the years as university professors stood and turned their backs at commencements or speaker's events when they did not agree with the speaker. The student's following their lead often behaved much worse and are sometimes coached to disrupt anyone who dares present a POV disagreeable to their pure minds and rigorous reasoning.
Here's an anecdote demonstrating how an adult approached the problem back in the old days. I was YouTubing a 1973 Dick Cavett show (Robert Shaw was a guest). The stage conversation was disrupted by those who disliked a Cavett guest and were becoming raucous. Watch fey little Dickie Cavett's eyes starting at 1:45. He doesn't like the audience participation one bit. This is his show and it is intended for serious and open minded adults. Juvenile bad behavior can go make history elsewhere, right now we're going to hear what his guest has to say. He gets control of the matter. The section to which I am referring runs from about 1:45 to 5 minutes.
The full clip concludes with Shaw making a rather prescient criticism of the author's prose.
Shaw was an award winning author and as a playwright his Man in the Glass Booth was a commercial success in London and New York. The boy could scribble.
Finally, here is a Spectator piece on Oregon's version of civilization and democracy:
The real problem with Oregon media might be called "brain drain." If you're a really, really terrific journalist, you'll probably get out of a small-market town like Portland and move up the greasy pole. The bigger markets of SF and LA beckon...and you might just make the cut for the big-time in NYC or DC.
After our riot-year, Covid lockdowns that decimated the cute small biz, and general uniformity of what gets covered as "news"--plus the evident low quality of newsroom leadership...well, this isn'rt a very alluring place to sink any roots.
Comes down to a simple question: would you rather work long hours for lousy pay under Therese Bottomly or at the pinnacle under Baquet (or his colorless successor)?
To paraphrase, the first step is to admit that you are the problem(s). Instead our leaders go tromping about like Oedipus determined to locate the cause of the Theban plague. And, like Oedipus they needn't travel further than the bathroom mirror. Alas.
This bumnav biz reads lucrative. Wish I had dreamed it up and were getting a slice. Puts me in mind of Maxine Waters living in the 37th District while "serving" the 43rd. When you fully decode her text you find that it is a cookbook. She's gotten a good living keeping down those who inhabit the 43rd. Skimming cream, not only gets you rich but gets a reputation as a helluva swell guy or gal. Keep your boot on the throat of an underdog and charge admission while you skin 'em for the pot.
All you need to know about local journalism is that they burned Packwood for getting drunk, squeezing his eyes shut, puckering into fish lips, and going for a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey smooch. Goldschmidt goes full Polanski and gets a pass for a quarter century plus. Mark Hatfield, well Hatfield....we don't want to talk or write about that.
The busting out of school racket is a good one, too. Look at all the trouble Bueller had whereas these kids just hold hands and skip right on out the door. Ferris inserted himself in the parade but our kids are the parade. Progress.
I've watched over the years as university professors stood and turned their backs at commencements or speaker's events when they did not agree with the speaker. The student's following their lead often behaved much worse and are sometimes coached to disrupt anyone who dares present a POV disagreeable to their pure minds and rigorous reasoning.
Here's an anecdote demonstrating how an adult approached the problem back in the old days. I was YouTubing a 1973 Dick Cavett show (Robert Shaw was a guest). The stage conversation was disrupted by those who disliked a Cavett guest and were becoming raucous. Watch fey little Dickie Cavett's eyes starting at 1:45. He doesn't like the audience participation one bit. This is his show and it is intended for serious and open minded adults. Juvenile bad behavior can go make history elsewhere, right now we're going to hear what his guest has to say. He gets control of the matter. The section to which I am referring runs from about 1:45 to 5 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJxXH_Gysrs
The full clip concludes with Shaw making a rather prescient criticism of the author's prose.
Shaw was an award winning author and as a playwright his Man in the Glass Booth was a commercial success in London and New York. The boy could scribble.
Finally, here is a Spectator piece on Oregon's version of civilization and democracy:
https://spectatorworld.com/topic/oregon-nasty-woman-tina-kotek/