Oregon Media Insiders

WWeek reports on Oregonian publisher Fred Stickel's rather ominous letter snail-mailed to employees:

The most interesting news in publisher Fred Stickel's letter, however, is a reminder of the paper's longstanding job-security pledge, which he writes "never was intended to apply to weekly publications or to distribution of content over the Internet. The Pledge's protection is tied to the daily publication of The Oregonian's current newsprint product — not the functions you perform individually."

The clarification appears to suggest that those employees who are part-timers, or who work for the website oregonlive.com or for the daily paper's other weekly publications may not have the security they might have previously assumed.

The Pledge is more than 40 years old; WWeek speculates that if the paper dropped one day a week--"say the lightly-read Monday edition"--that the Pledge might no longer apply and no one's job would be safe.

Reading the letter itself, that gloss, which WWeek itself calls "paranoid," doesn't feel that off the mark to me. To wit, the closing paragraph:

We also wish to make sure that the Pledge language is clear and unambiguous. The Pledge always has and will continue to protect the jobs of eligible employees unless our newspaper ceases to publish daily in its current newsprint form. The Pledge does not/will not apply to situations in which our newspaper ceases to publish daily in its current newsprint form.

I don't know about you, but I don't like the sound of that...

O people, what do you hear?

For instance, this campaign coverage roundup by Aaron Mesh, which included this little tidbit:

Best Mouthpiece for a Candidate: KATU reporter Anna Song, repeating the Jeff Merkley line that Steve Novick was keeping it close because “he’s a political insider.” Song did not mention that this explanation seemed a little strange coming from the state Speaker of the House.

Well, actually, Aaron, what's a little strange is that I have it on very good authority that Anna was at the movies last night. (Why any reporter in this state was at the movies last night is another issue.) You were watching Thanh Tan. But, you know, black hair, dark eyes, Asian--easy to make the mistake.

WWire is reporting that OPB's congenial Morning Edition host April Baer will be moving to cover departed political reporter Colin Fogarty's beat. Sliding into her empty anchor chair will be Kristian Foden-Vencil (you can bet I looked that one up carefully and I'm still not sure I've got it right):

Foden-Vencil and Portland Mercury reporter Matt Davis are perhaps the local media's most out-of-the-closet Brits. Of course, Foden-Vencil is known for his accent, whereas Davis is known for his singular charm.

snorfle

OPB news director Morgan Holm told WWire the switcheroo starts 4/7/08, and that a new reporting position will be posted soon-ish.

Hi guys, running way way way behind round these parts.* So let's catch up with Portland Monthly, where WWeek says they're on the prowl for a new editor:

After two-plus years at the helm, Ted Katauskas will return to what he says is his “dream job”: writing long-form narrative for PM as its editor-at-large. Katauskas, once WW’ s Outdoors columnist, began working at PM as a writer and “took on more and more management duties over time.”

They're doing a nationwide search, apparently.

*Cablenut starts working from home tomorrow, which will make four of us in the house 24/7. We're adjusting!

Not so much Facebook as a site but some Facebook members.

Last week, WW published Trial by Facebook. Today, Matt Davis caught a new Facebook group dedicated to dissing the journalist who wrote the article.

Matt also wonders why no one has started a Facebook group devoted to hating on him. Matt, all you have to do is mail a copy of your "meat" articles to the Food Fight people with the words "NOT SORRY" in cut-out letters from magazines. That oughta get something going.

Being a science fiction fan of long standing, I'm used to the vox populi passing some sort of less-than-respectful judgement on me, my friends, the lifestyle I lead...I'm usually a socially inept loser who blogs from their parent's basement, obsessed with statistics and trivia and delusions of being a spaceship captain.

For the purpose of disclosure, I am blogging from a basement, but it's my basement in my house.

WWeek reports today that The O's circulation numbers are down...:

...about 1.2 percent on Sundays, to 371,000 copies, and about 0.4 percent weekdays, to 309,000. ... These are the first numbers since the O launched its extra special newsstand-only edition in June, designed to capture pedestrians’ pocket change with huge photos and sexy (ick) headlines that pump up sports, woodland creatures, rape and TV reruns.

As opposed to, say, Brazilian wax jobs.

Over at Blogtown, Matt Davis reports that a media "conglomerate" including WWeek and the O has hired an attorney to force the city to release records in the Chasse case:

[The] conglomerate ... is understood to have hired an attorney, Duane Bosworth, of the international law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, to argue that Federal Court should force the City of Portland to release information publicly about the disciplinary records of the Portland Police Bureau Officers and Sheriff’s Deputy involved in the controversial death in custody of James Philip Chasse last September. [Matt, take a breath now and then, eh!] ...

Yesterday, Bosworth, whose services are extremely expensive, filed a motion to intervene in the case, on behalf of the local media conglomerate--arguing that the disciplinary records of the officers are not only crucial to the Chasse family’s case against the city and county ... but that the public, too, has a right to know about these things.

Steenson wants personnel, phone and medical records for the officers involved along with other information about the incident.

Apologies to WWeek. They do all this remodeling and get a bunch of weird reaction and I don't say a word about it here.

So: Not fascist. Odd-looking, but not fascist.

Portland developer Bob Ball was considering a mayoral bid when he says he heard that his potential opponent, commissioner Sam Adams, had done something career-ending with a 17-year-old boy.

He brought up the rumor with two political contacts, both of whom believe they were being used in a political smear. The Oregonian and Willamette Week investigated, but neither could find any evidence, any accuser, or anyone who believed the story. Both Adams and the now 20-year-old man say it's untrue.

Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss decided that something about this merited publication. Breaking the news online, his lede intoned ominously of a politician engaged in "damage control" over "persistent rumors," detailing all the gory lack of evidence for two dozen paragraphs.