Lots of buzz this week about troubles at the O. Willamette Week is always in the local daily's face, and the other day the Double Dub posted an in-house e-mail from O editor Sandy Rowe that suggests, between the lines, that everybody in the place start thinking about their next careers. The memo also reveals that the dead tree version of the paper is now the handmaiden of the electronic version, after years of the relationship being the other way around.
This is not news. Circulation's down, ad revenue has got to be way down, and there's no upturn in sight. Today's kids don't, and are never going to, read newspapers. It's all riding on the internet now.
And when it comes to the internet, the O's ugly parent company, the Newhouse family behemoth known as Advance, has done just about everything wrong so far. All of its web sites are the same, and they've been unspeakably bad. It's looking bleak indeed.
Can you imagine Randy Gragg trying to get a real job?
Comments (21)
Velveeta will make things better. Velveeta makes everything better.
The sad part is that Portland needs a smart, well written, and sophisticated daily paper online or otherwise.
I mean we have a library system with the second highest circulation rates and on of the most books read per capita in the whole country. However what we have as a daily paper reads mostly like it was written for turnip truck refugees and coupon clipping recipe swapping housewives in the suburbs.
Maybe it's time for the O to die, I just hope something better can replace it.
As for that memo. Wow. a big D- for Ms. Rowe in business writing class. This is one to keep for future students in how NOT to write a memo.
Among the most frequently used words in her memo is must, which appears 10 times. Instead of conveying a sense of Oregonian destiny, the word signals Rowe's reliance on managementspeak. Far from rallying the Oregonian staff to help the new bosses remake the paper, Rowe's memo pours a round of Kool-Aid and invites the newsroom to do a Jonestown.
meanwhile, the Portland Tribune seems to be doing well, i hear?
Is that right? I hope so. I thought I heard awhile back that the Trib was about to go under. It's not a comprehensive paper, but the few articles in the Trib are so much better researched and written that I actually look forward to picking up a copy.
"The sad part is that Portland needs a smart, well written, and sophisticated daily paper online or otherwise". That's been true for 65 years...yup I'm that old to remember.
Velveeta? Try Limburger. ROFLMAO.
One of the "Oh's!" big problems is that they love the NY Times and its style. No offense since I read the Times everyday and have for years, but with a number of news services, other papers and columnist in this country, the "Oh!" gets much and maybe too much is appropriate here from the NY Times.
Maybe they should try what the preach to the rest of us, a little diversity.
I'd hire Gragg to clean out the stalls of my horse barn. Unfortunately, I don't have a horse barn, and Gragg's skill with a shovel probably wouldn't be any better than his skill as an urban planning/architecture critic.
It's stupid in my opinion to think about the O in terms of liberal or conservative.
However, I absolutely think that the coverage and the editorials are heavily slanted in favor of downtown Portland business interests. Some of those people pass themselves off as liberals, others say they're conservatives.
The common thread is that they all depend upon the government to make their money. Some are given monopoly utility franchises, others depend on urban renewal, and there are others, but those two main categories cover most of what drives the agenda at the O.
Democracy works best when people have access to the important decisions before they are even framed or proposed. The O is too reactive and trusting of the received wisdom of the powers that be. For the O to work well, it should be stirring up mess at the very beginning of murmurs that something is afoot.
The WW, Merc, and Daily Journal of Commerce all do a better job of being proactive than the O. It's not necessarily the writers' fault. There is a culture of kiss-ass of the 'civic luminaries' that is worthless, and needs to go, yet somehow still tries to run this town.
Fortunately, this town has become too smart for that BS.
The culture at the Oregonian seems to think that rewriting PR releases sent in by government sources is news and that's sad. It also might explain why those sources get protection when they step in it. (Neil isn't the only example.)
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (21)
Velveeta will make things better. Velveeta makes everything better.
Posted by Chris Snethen | March 21, 2007 1:59 PM
The sad part is that Portland needs a smart, well written, and sophisticated daily paper online or otherwise.
I mean we have a library system with the second highest circulation rates and on of the most books read per capita in the whole country. However what we have as a daily paper reads mostly like it was written for turnip truck refugees and coupon clipping recipe swapping housewives in the suburbs.
Maybe it's time for the O to die, I just hope something better can replace it.
As for that memo. Wow. a big D- for Ms. Rowe in business writing class. This is one to keep for future students in how NOT to write a memo.
Posted by OregonianBlows | March 21, 2007 2:31 PM
meanwhile, the Portland Tribune seems to be doing well, i hear?
Posted by ecohuman.com | March 21, 2007 2:35 PM
Jack Shafer says it far better than I could:
Among the most frequently used words in her memo is must, which appears 10 times. Instead of conveying a sense of Oregonian destiny, the word signals Rowe's reliance on managementspeak. Far from rallying the Oregonian staff to help the new bosses remake the paper, Rowe's memo pours a round of Kool-Aid and invites the newsroom to do a Jonestown.
Posted by Dave J. | March 21, 2007 2:52 PM
If we lose the Oregonian's endorsements, we won't know how not to vote.
Posted by Dave Lister | March 21, 2007 3:12 PM
If we lose the Oregonian's endorsements, we won't know how not to vote.
Fred Stickel will just have to blog them instead.
Posted by b!X | March 21, 2007 3:17 PM
meanwhile, the Portland Tribune seems to be doing well, i hear?
Is that right? I hope so. I thought I heard awhile back that the Trib was about to go under. It's not a comprehensive paper, but the few articles in the Trib are so much better researched and written that I actually look forward to picking up a copy.
Posted by Miles | March 21, 2007 3:22 PM
I'd be happy to hire Gragg to do maintenance and clean-up work around my apartments. But I'm not sure he'd like to work that hard.
I do think he knows something about aesthetics, but he probably thinks he's worth more than $12/hour. I don't.
Posted by Mister Tee | March 21, 2007 3:27 PM
"The sad part is that Portland needs a smart, well written, and sophisticated daily paper online or otherwise". That's been true for 65 years...yup I'm that old to remember.
Velveeta? Try Limburger. ROFLMAO.
Posted by KISS | March 21, 2007 4:23 PM
How am I going to start my wood stove from Nov to March?
Posted by todd | March 21, 2007 4:44 PM
More importantly, how will we wrap our salmon?
Posted by Kevin | March 21, 2007 5:15 PM
Easy! Use the Mercury...
Posted by Matt Davis | March 21, 2007 6:00 PM
One of the "Oh's!" big problems is that they love the NY Times and its style. No offense since I read the Times everyday and have for years, but with a number of news services, other papers and columnist in this country, the "Oh!" gets much and maybe too much is appropriate here from the NY Times.
Maybe they should try what the preach to the rest of us, a little diversity.
The Nickle
Posted by The Plugged Nickle | March 21, 2007 6:11 PM
I'd hire Gragg to clean out the stalls of my horse barn. Unfortunately, I don't have a horse barn, and Gragg's skill with a shovel probably wouldn't be any better than his skill as an urban planning/architecture critic.
Posted by Doug in SW | March 21, 2007 6:15 PM
"Gragg's skill with a shovel probably wouldn't be any better than his skill as an urban planning/architecture critic."
C'mon now, Gragg shovels it on week in and week out. He's a master at that kind of thing. Maybe he can get a job at the rodeo.
Posted by morty | March 21, 2007 6:45 PM
If we lose the Oregonian's reporters, PDC, Metro, TriMet, OHSU, Port of Portland, CoP, and Sam won't have a PR firm.
Posted by Jerry | March 21, 2007 6:51 PM
LET'S MAKE A DEAL!
The Big O sells to Soros or some eq, we vote for the Charter change.
Posted by dyspeptic | March 21, 2007 9:10 PM
I canceled my subscription today.
Posted by Bark Munster | March 21, 2007 9:36 PM
It's stupid in my opinion to think about the O in terms of liberal or conservative.
However, I absolutely think that the coverage and the editorials are heavily slanted in favor of downtown Portland business interests. Some of those people pass themselves off as liberals, others say they're conservatives.
The common thread is that they all depend upon the government to make their money. Some are given monopoly utility franchises, others depend on urban renewal, and there are others, but those two main categories cover most of what drives the agenda at the O.
Democracy works best when people have access to the important decisions before they are even framed or proposed. The O is too reactive and trusting of the received wisdom of the powers that be. For the O to work well, it should be stirring up mess at the very beginning of murmurs that something is afoot.
The WW, Merc, and Daily Journal of Commerce all do a better job of being proactive than the O. It's not necessarily the writers' fault. There is a culture of kiss-ass of the 'civic luminaries' that is worthless, and needs to go, yet somehow still tries to run this town.
Fortunately, this town has become too smart for that BS.
Posted by Puddlejumper | March 21, 2007 11:25 PM
The culture at the Oregonian seems to think that rewriting PR releases sent in by government sources is news and that's sad. It also might explain why those sources get protection when they step in it. (Neil isn't the only example.)
Forty years age it was a decient news source.
Posted by David E Gilmore | March 22, 2007 7:38 AM
The cruelest line in Slate's bruising critique of Sandy Rowe's silly little e-mail was this one:
"I've read grocery lists that were more literate."
That had to hurt. Especially since her old pals in Virginee are reading it on the Net and laughing at her too.
Posted by Daphne | March 22, 2007 11:01 AM