Oregon Media Insiders

Odd. OPB's Morning Edition Host has been in the job just since April.

Now they post the job is open again.
http://www.opb.org/insideopb/careers/jobs/

What's up OPB?

After reading about the Oregonian's loyalty pledge, or potential lack thereof, I believe all who are engaged in the profession of journalism need to assess how they need adapt to changing technologies. The Fourth Estate provides an essential function in a free society, although the manner in which people receive information will continue to evolve.

The printed page will not disappear without a viable replacement. It is still one of the most cost-effective means to reach a mass audience. Advertisers recognize this and will continue to support the printing of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals as long as there is a market.

That being said, we must also recognize that time is an enemy of the print media. In the Information Age, we have become accustomed to receiving instant messages, email alerts, and crawls across the bottom of our TV screens at the first hint of breaking news. Television, radio, and Websites are poised to reach audiences who demand immediate notification of significant news events when they occur. But for in-depth reporting, analysis and investigation there will undoubtedly continue to be a significant need for newspapers and news magazines.

It will be a long time before we can all have access to pocket-sized Blackberries or computers to read and watch as we commute, work, or relax away from a fixed portal. The challenge for all journalists is to recognize and adapt to new ways of gathering, producing, and disseminating information that will meet the demands of a new generation of consumers (and advertisers who desire to reach them.)

The basic skills required for journalism will not change. We will always need people who can interview, investigate, and dig for facts. We rely on photo and video journalists to show people events or places they could not see firsthand. The tools of journalism may change, but the skills will not. We need to focus on keeping our readers, listeners, and viewers well-informed; which should always be a marketable commodity in a democratic society.

I had asked this question in another thread about Mike Donahue and didn't get an answer, so I thought I'd try here. Does anyone know if former KOIN anchor Shirley Hancock won her lawsuit against KOIN? Or did she settle her suit out of court?

Does anyone know what happened to Shirley, where she is and what she is doing these days? The team of Shirley and Mike Donahue were the best in Portland during their time. I still think Lynn Heider would be smart to jettison Jeff Gianola and Kelley Day and make Mike evening anchor. Let Mr. Donahue anchor the evening newscasts until he retires. In my opinion Gianola is useless and Day isn't much better. I'll say this, KOIN has gotten a bit better overall, but it sure has a long way to go.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wow, the entry by Kaptnvideo was very, very good. He really put into proper perspective the challenges faced by today's newspapers. It is obvious that the good old days of high profits are over for newspapers. The Oregonian will have to adopt to the changes that fact will bring about. The letter from Fred Stickel to the employees reflects this reality. I do think that the paper's senior management will most likely scale back the existing job guarantee.
I also wonder what will become of the paper's plans to replace their aging presses? I am told that there was a plan to do that and relocate the press plant to industrial NW Portland. I suppose that's been shelved. I also wonder how long it might be until the head office site is sold. It is so weird seeing a high-rise (condos) going in right across the street from The Oregonian. I would think that the paper's Broadway site is becoming very valuable. As the paper's headquarters is built on the site of the Ladd Mansion, it would be rather interesting to see that part of town return to residential use.

I also wanted to say that I agree with Shawn's post about KOIN "anchors" Jeff Gianola and Kelley Day. Mike Donahue should be returned to evening anchor and paired with someone who is as talented as Shirley Hancock was during her days at KOIN.

Lastly, may I just say that I hate summer. I can't believe we have this awful heat wave to get through. I can hardly wait for July and August!! Maybe I would like summer more if there were no days over 78 degrees and regular rain showers to enjoy. I'm just an autumn and spring person I guess!

In answer to your questions, Shirley didn't really "win" her age discrimination lawsuit as much as she recieved a settlement. The difference is that she didn't get as much as she wanted, but she did get some money.

And for the record, it's fairly commonplace for TV anchors and reporters to claim age discrimination when they're fired or their contracts aren't renewed. Most of those lawsuits are not successful.

Right now the biggest problem that KOIN is dealing with is a lack of finanacial resources. Due to the on-going credit crunch, KOIN's new owner cannot get the money the station needs to make necessary improvements (or at least that's what employees are being told).

The morale in KOIN's newsroom has improved significantly with the hiring of their News Director (Lynn), and the General Manager (Chris Sehring) is a very smart and classy man. The news ratings have shown definite improvement...and it's likely that they'll see better ratings for both the early morning news and 5p-7p newsblock on KOIN.

One note of caution, there seems to be some serious issues involving the sales and business departments at KOIN. Lots of turnover and departures of long time employees (have you seen the TV commercial KOIN is airing to hire a salesperson?). Sources tell me that KOIN's sales department is a mess, can anyone confirm?

It would be nice if KOIN could get it's act together.

I have always loved the MSNBC.com feature of stories having a "New" or "Updated" tag next to the headline on the home page.

Now it looks like KATU.com is doing the same thing for the top stories and "Headlines" section. Hopefully they will do it for the other sections lower on the homepage too.

Kudos to Adam Bjarnson and the KGW team for Saturday's special coverage of the Olympic Trials in Eugene. Well done. I look forward to next Saturday's show.

If you're ever a bit confused by some of the tv newscast terminology that occasionally finds its way to OMI, or just want to have some fun reading, check out this vintage thread on MediaLine:

http://openline.medialine.com/showthread.php?t=12380

Now I've learned that the "proper" name for one thing which KPTV loves to do on its newscasts is Architectural Study . (when you shoot video of a building HOURS after an event took place. Example: shooting the exterior of a bank at 6pm when it was robbed at 9am, or a house that burned overnight but is being shot during the day)