Even in the early 80′s, when I was at U of O studying something they called Journalism, most everyone involved was already heading to advertising or PR. The old path of starting out as a beat reporter at a small town rag out of college, or as a copy boy at a big paper out of high school, were already fading fast or long gone, respectively. And that was when newspapers had money. Journalists aren’t born; they must be raised, and that’s stopped happening.

Why wouldn’t they? That’s a great story! After all, most people already don’t love dentists. But for me it was the car reviews, in which each new model was the pinnacle of progress, and the architecture reviews, which became part of something called real estate and were similarly fawning. Soon every restaurant got at least a couple of stars, and even the crappiest “big” arts events became universally fan-tabulous.

The Oregonian can be pretty schizo at times, defying easy ideological pigeonholing.
On the bad side, they’ve been nuts against assisted suicide (ineffectively) and Snake River Dam Removal (more effectively). On the good side, they also endorsed their first Democratic presidential candidate in 150 years, John Kerry, in 2004. Like all papers, they’re anti-union and overly cozy with sleazier businesses, but every so often, they surprise you. That’s why I still read the thing I suppose.

That’s still better than the crappy national elites we’re left with now.

I read one this morning; cost me a buck, about 30 cents more than it was worth. I skipped the NYT though, because that sucker is $2.50 and I think on Thursdays it has David Brooks in it. When my commute outlasts my paper, I turn to my iphone.

With Newhouse, it hasn’t been as sudden, but the trend is the same.

I was actually told by an Oregonian staffer that pictures of my work had been cut from the Homes section because they hated my letters. That was fifteen or more years ago, when the paper wasn’t so depleted.

Yeah, me, too. I’m sure there’s a Fox or Examiner affiliate ready to step in. (What they’re going to step in, I don’t need to tell you…)

And really, can you take an ipad to the potty with you?

Desire or no desire, the funding for content is basically kaput. Think of the lovely corruption to follow, when we rely on the AP (!) or FOX (!!) for everything.

Yes, it’s “less is more,” with predicable results. The Oregonian sold for .35 when it was worth four bits at least; now it’s a buck for something that would blow away in a strong breeze.

Not enough, apparently. DHS and the police (a lot from other towns in the area) wiped up Occupy Portland with shocking ease.

As for remodeling, the kitchen is nearly done; granite tomorrow and finish plumbing on Thursday. As for the police state, my only hope is that the public will begin to tire of hearing the same story twice a month. Now that propagandizing Americans is legal, could they at least hire some talent?

I love that video, and I watched it first here.

Pretty much. Heck, Little Beirut turned into Little Singapore with barely a whimper last fall.

Well, I too may have swooned, but today I had my smelling salts handy. What a five dollar tart he is. (No offense to real $5 tarts, who provide a valuable public service…)

Hey, my dad made quite a bit of money investing in ranchland on that side of the state, back in the day. Unfortunately, his politics got stuck there, too.
Even the Oregonian isn’t as rudely nutty as that J/S thing, though, when they disagree with their readers. They’ve also even recanted a time or two. Rather be a beaver than a badger, newspaper-wise.

Back in the Bush years, when all this was starting, I thought it seemed a little over the top. Really, this because of the Dixie Chicks? Now, though, when the scramble is on for the last of the money, old investments are finally paying off. You don’t buy a police state unless you’re going to need it.

Me, too. And I always had a terrific headache afterwards.

You can forget that. Once George Will officially became a global warming denier who opined that mass transit was a Commie plot, you can bet that wars will be in our energy future.