The Trib at 10
Portland's newest newspaper is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. Here's a story essentially patting itself on the back for all the stories it has broken over the decade of its existence.
Although the Tribune did not fulfill every hope that it enkindled when it started, there is no doubt that its presence has done the city a lot of good. Our hat's off today to owner Bob Pamplin, the current staff of the paper, and the many great writers who contributed to the publication's first 10 years. Of all the charitable gifts Pamplin has made in his long career, the Trib is by far his best.
| Posted at 7:43 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (6)
My column was the first piece entered into the Trib's computer for the first issue. I ended up writing over 150 columns for them before joining the Portland Tribune Alumni Association. The best I ever did was the time I got my column printed on the front page.
My three favorite memories? Waking up in the morning and seeing a long line of papers stretching down the block off into the distance during the early home-delivery phase. The second was the time I was seated on a Tri-Met bus and the person next to me was reading my column without realizing I was there.
The best memory? I was downtown and I had dressed for a mild day when this nasty, cold rainstorm moved in. I waited at the bus stop for a few minutes, freezing, when I suddenly said to myself, "What are you doing? You're rolling in cash right now." I went over to Pioneer Square and returned to the bus stop wearing a $250 coat.
When I applied to the Trib I was a national freelance comedy writer. I literally placed a letter under Bob Pamplin's office door and he wrote back. I thought that showed class. He could have spent the Trib money on a lot of things, but he decided to start a newspaper in Portland. That was a fortunate move for me and many others. Best of luck for a bright future for the Trib. P.S. I still have the coat.
Posted by Bill McDonald | February 3, 2011 9:06 AM
I always thought the Trib. came about because of some PC silliness in the staff at the big O.
Posted by David E Gilmore | February 3, 2011 9:22 AM
there is no doubt that its presence has done the city a lot of good.
Hear, hear.
Posted by ep | February 3, 2011 9:54 AM
I was slow but ready to warm to the Tribune. And, eventually, I did. Portland is the better for its presence.
Posted by Larry | February 3, 2011 10:45 AM
Not sure so maybe Bill will comment but I thought his column was axed because he came out against Iraq War...you know the one caused by Hussein's possession of WMD.
Posted by paul | February 3, 2011 11:58 AM
I remember being pleasantly surprised by the Tribune's openness to diverse points of view. Since Pamplin is one of Oregon's best-known evangelicals (he owns the Christian Supply bookstore chain) I expected him to position his paper as a "conservative alterrnative" to the O and Willamette Week. I'm sure a lot of conservatives also assumed this would be the case. In some ways (not all, but some) it proved more liberal-minded, or at least more independent of the local establishment, than either of those papers. It's too bad Pamplin never fulfilled his promise to expand its publication to more than its initial two days per week, instead cutting it back to one and axing many popular features and contributors. I still greatly miss Pete Schulberg's media column.
Posted by Semi-Cynic | February 3, 2011 1:53 PM