I think he is angling for a short term job on Sams "staff"
He also said:Actually, as the story states, private investors are funding half. And from what I hear, they're getting in line..."
So extend the line and get the taxpayer out of it!

I wish he would let the story stand and not try his pathetic snarks to the readers that take time to comment.
Oh maybe he is not a "Journalist" but one of those.. Um.. Bloggers?!

Jack,
How many years do you estimate it has been
a governmental press release digest?

That particular story is Exhibit A in the case for revoking the O's Pulitzers. But there have been several others in just the last few weeks. Everybody over there's a blogger all of a sudden, and funny thing, they all support the incumbents who will give them their next job.

I'm continually gratified that I stopped my subscriptions seven years ago and I throw away their freebie ads dumped on my driveway without opening them. And lastly, I have NOT purchased advertising space in the O for my employer in over 6 years.

I hope the readers here will do as I have. Obviously the O doesn't respect our desire for accurate and informed reporting, but when the dollar flow continues to dry up, as it is now they will blow away in the wind.

Notice also that the Portland Business Association has a blog on the Oregonian web site with little or no identification as propaganda from a PAC.

It's also important to remember that Auto Dealers remain the last great patron of newspaper advertising.

Fire the editor!

They lost being objective with that comment:

Urban planners increasingly see . . . as the mark of a world-class city.

This is the usual justification for any give-away. Of course, you'll never see them mention good schools or paved roads as the "mark".

Besides, when have urban planners ever had an original idea? They usually take a trip to Europe see something different and think its the answer to everything over here.

I swear I couldn't find that comment in there. That was a fair point he had, I thought, though not really appropriate in a "news" piece. Seems to be the new style of journalism.

Is the problem that there was opinion in a news piece, or are you saying that the auto industry is a pillar of the free market economy? Does our military count?

I frequently hear a rationale that the print media is failing because of the growth of blogs, the web, etc. I think the print media is failing because they don't look in the mirror and see the type of the people they hire to write articles.

They were mostly toadies when I got here in 1974. Not all, but most. Especially the Business Section.

A problem is that a good newspaper is needed for a community, good journalists need a place to make a living wage, and no one is willing to pay for it. I am so 20th... er, 19th Century. sigh.

The Big Zero( and the others) hire folks of the age and mind set of those to whom the newspaper directs its advertising. Newspapers do so to appeal to that audience for the advertising. And that is the 25 - 40 demographic, same as the TV weenies. They do so because the advertising industry tells them that that demographic is the one with money to spend on the advertiser's products.

And folks with maturity and wisdom in their 50s and 60s get ignored because, though they may have some bucks, they don't tend to spend those bucks on the advertisers products.

Say, why has Regal Cinemas pulled all its ads from the Big Zero for a couple months now? Did Regal finally figure out that the movie goers are far more into net stuff and get their info on line?

That pull of the Regal ads in the paper has got to be a serious hit on the Xero's bottom line.

Joseph Rose is the biggest lightweight in the media. He takes everything city hall gives him in a press release as 100% fact. He does no research himself. Either he is dim, lazy or really enjoys the kool-aid. Either way, he's pathetic. Always has been.

You can tell by his stories and his weak chin hiding goatee that he's some trust fund boy that is a transplant to the area!

I frequently hear a rationale that the print media is failing because of the growth of blogs, the web, etc. I think the print media is failing because they don't look in the mirror and see the type of the people they hire to write articles.

You nailed it, David.

They don't grasp that the purpose of journalism is to provide objective reportage. At no time was this divide better illustrated than when smarmy columnist (subsequently promoted to editor) Jonathon Nicholas was asked during the course of an interview - what motivated you to go into journalism?

His response: I wanted to make a difference.

Therein lies the problem.

A couple years ago I went to one of those "transportation planning" classes over at PSU sponsored by the City.

Each week there was a different professional speaker, so PBOT blessed the course by having not one but two different folks come in.

And each of those two people had a common message:

"The City of Portland neither receives nor uses general funds or property tax dollars for roads."

Neither does Multnomah County, nor the State of Oregon. (Washington County does, but it's also multiple-time voter approved.)

And, yet, when I repeat the fact with source (linking to ODOT's and PBOT's budgets) the anti-road, pro-bike, pro-streetcar, pro-rail crowds come back repeating the same lie over and over again. It seems they have a strong case of the "if we say it enough it must be true" syndrome, just like that big oil and General Motors killed off (the Red Cars) the streetcar. Of course, the Red Cars weren't streetcars, weren't owned by the company in question, and were controlled by a government agency (MTA) when the system was shut down...and that Portland, whose system was never controlled by the same parent company, was shut down a full decade earlier than Los Angeles. But why worry about facts when there are lies to be made up and presented as fact?

I'me sure Joseph is collaborating with Nick Christensen, Dylan Rivera & James Middaugh to make sure he is fair and accurate.

Rose doesn't research, he just regurgitates.

If he'd researched the US Department of Transportation and US Budget Office reports he'd find, as reported in the NYTimes and WSJ several months back, that gas taxes pay 100% for roads and even a great deal of mass transit.