Starting today, WWeek began a five-part series on Portland radio. Admitting they don't know a lot about local radio, writer Casey Jarman says:

Seattle has KEXP, Los Angeles has KCRW—and we often sing the praises of local music, so where’s Portland’s iconic FM station?

Along with the print articles, WWeek hopes to use their music blog Local Cut as a resource and sounding board for readers.

After more than 22 years, Margie Boulé has closed her column with The Oregonian:

I wrote my first column for The Oregonian on Sept. 20, 1987.

This will be my last.

My first column began, "As a rule, people's beginnings and endings are untidy affairs. They're so often beyond our control. We cannot choose our birth dates; we cannot look ahead and know the day we will die. And in the intervening years, there are often exasperating gaps between the ends of things -- the day your true love packed his banjo and his softball glove and left for San Diego -- and the beginnings we wish to jump to -- the chance meeting by the Literature Fa-Fl shelves in Powell's Bookstore."

But Sept. 20, 1987, was a day of synchronicities. On that day I ended my career in television and began my career as a print journalist. On that day, too, my daughter started first grade, and my grandfather died. It was his 87th birthday. It was a day of beginnings and endings.

And so is today. Today I end my career as a columnist for The Oregonian and look ahead to something new.

She goes on to recount some of the most memorable stories ever told in her over 3,000 columns. If you haven't read it yet, do.

Boulé was among 37 staffers laid off from the paper last week.

Stacey Wilson, former associate editor of Portland Monthly, is joining The Hollywood Reporter as a television features editor. Byron Beck has an interview:

How did you hear about the job?

I saw it posted on Mediabistro.com two weeks ago and thought, ‘Wow, that sounds like the perfect job for me.' But knowing the climate and how many talented journos are out of work right now, I felt the site would be utterly flooded with resumes, so I got sneaky. I asked my friend who reviews films for Us Weekly (with whom I used to work in New York), if she knew anyone there and she did. I wrote him, and he referred me to the Editor in Chief, who referred me to the Executive Editor in charge of hiring. That was Monday two weeks ago. By that Wednesday, he’d asked if I was going to be in L.A. anytime soon; funny enough, I was. I changed my ticket to arrive a day sooner, and that was that. Honestly though, I felt like I’d won the lottery just getting an interview.

While The Oregonian was cutting jobs yesterday, so was The Register-Guard.

Nine full-time employees and five part-time workers were laid off, and five open positions were "frozen," according to an article on the paper's website. Affected jobs were in "all operating departments," primarily circulation and human resources, the paper says. A total headcount of 286 workers is reported.

Last August, The Register-Guard laid off 16.

Retail, automotive, real estate and employment are the four ad sectors publisher Tony Baker points to as the sources of declining revenue at the Eugene publication. But when those sectors rebound, he tells the paper, "we must be positioned to take advantage of the opportunities they present."

The Oregonian reports that Dick Bogle, remembered as a pioneer in Portland television news and city politics, has passed away at the age of 79.

Richard Bogle spent eight years on the Portland Police force before shifting to television, working as a reporter and anchor, at Channel KATU-Channel 2 for 15 years. After a career in television news, Bogle was elected to city council in 1984, where he served as a commissioner for eight years.

No funeral has been planned, but a memorial to celebrate Bogle's life is tentatively set for March.

After several cycles of buyouts, The Oregonian began laying off newsroom and other employees this morning, a move that had long been expected. The company's pledge to avoid newsroom layoffs expired earlier this month. Unverified names of those affected do not indicate a particular pattern, such as a rumored thinning of non-Portland reporters, though our list of names is, thus far, short.

A statement on The Oregonian's website measures the staff reduction at 37, primarily in the news department, leaving "more than 200" in the newsroom and a total of 750.

Said publisher Chris Anderson in a statement, "These layoffs are a painful but necessary part of our 2010 budget, which was developed to ensure financial stability for The Oregonian now and in the future."

UPDATE (11:35 am): Byron Beck publishes three names, none of which we've confirmed, and only one of which we've heard from other sources.

UPDATE (11:50 am): Matt Davis publishes 19 names.

UPDATE (12:25 pm): Hank Stern names a few that have already been listed.

UPDATE (2/25, 10:52 am): Publisher Chris Anderson tells OMC, "We have notified every person who is being laid off. We have no plans, no intentions and no thoughts of further layoffs."

Last week, we published a filthy article about the trouble one local playwright was having getting her show mentioned by The Oregonian. The problem with the play was its title: "Slap That Bitch," a hip-hop retelling of "The Taming of the Shrew." We proceeded to publish The Oregonian's own list of all the naughty words supposedly banned from the paper, as well as details of what colorful language had nevertheless made it into print.

Serious journalism, that.

Since then, The Oregonian did list the play online, minus its title. Instead, paper used the play's production company, "Fuse Theatre Ensemble," as its heading.

Then yesterday, a reader alerted us to an online-only review. The play's title was in the headline and appeared once in the article itself. But with nothing in Sunday's paper, we wondered if this was another example of the dichotomy between print and pixels when it came to certain words in The O. (Compare this online article with its print partner, for example.)

Today, however, "Slap That Bitch" was printed in a bold headline atop a short-form review. Paired with this online video from theater critic Marty Hughley, The Oregonian turned an initially cautious approach into a sort of bitch-fest.

As for the play itself, it "certainly has playfully, humorous moments," writes critic Richard Wattenberg, "but the piece could benefit from judicious cutting. It is itself in need of some taming."

The Oregonian vs.
the Portland Business Journal

The Oregonian, a 24-inch broadsheet, is considering a new shape.

In 1999, the paper shaved an inch off its width in a major redesign, and in 2007, it trimmed another half-inch. But according to employees at the paper, Publisher Chris Anderson has talked of the possibility of a smaller format closer to the size of the Portland Business Journal, which, like The Oregonian, is owned by Advance Publications.

It's unclear whether The Oregonian would use the same dimensions as the Journal, but the PBJ's measurements are 22.75 x 15 inches, while The Oregonian measures 24 x 22.75, both papers being unfolded. The PBJ's format is considered a tabloid, or, in parlance less evocative of the National Enquirer, a compact.

A reader of Jack Bogdanski's blog reveals questions they were asked in a telephone survey about the paper:

The big news is that the Oregonian is considering going to a tabloid format. The interviewer did not use that term but she asked if I read the paper on a table or by holding it in front of me. She also asked me to rate how well I liked:

-- smaller easier to hold format;
-- same or more pages;
-- pull out sections on sports, entertainment, business, local news -- depending on the day;
-- the sections being shaped like a magazine and stapled together;
-- color printing on nearly every page.

She also asked about my commuting habits regarding the various TriMet modes.

Another reader tells us that they have participated in a similar online survey.

Anderson has also discussed stapled pullout sections, according to Oregonian employees. The publisher declined to comment for this story.

In advance of Rev. Jesse Jackson's arrival today over the death of an unarmed man in a police shooting, The Skanner newspaper, serving Portland's African-American community, has published a remarkable editorial.

Listing several Portlanders who have been killed by police over the years, the paper is advising that its readers not call police in the event of an emergency:

The fact is, we at The Skanner News simply have to warn our readers away from calling the police when they are in a crisis situation. We cannot have faith that innocents won't get caught in the firing line when trigger-finger officers arrive in force. We need to start solving our own problems.

Later in the editorial, straightforwardly titled "Having an Emergency? Don't Call the Police," the paper softens its advice somewhat to, "if you are in crisis in Portland, think twice before you bring in law enforcement."

Instead, The Skanner recommends that community leaders should "teach young people how to solve problems and de-escalate potential violence. As long as we expect some force outside ourselves to fix our situation, we will always be disappointed in the result."

But how would such de-escalation and problem-solving work in an emergency such as a home invasion or a sexual assault? What should one do when observing a fight where weapons are present? Intervene? Let the fight play out?

Would this advice put readers in more danger? Was this editorial meant more to make a point?

In response to our questions, Skanner Editor Lisa Loving wrote:

The point we are making with this editorial is that, given the fact that people of color and people of all kinds who are experiencing a mental health crisis or other kinds of emergencies seem to be disproportionately injured and even killed when armed officers are called to sort out emergencies, it is unfortunately a good idea for people of color or anyone who is witnessing a mental health emergency to think twice before calling for a police response. The fact is, if you're Black in this town you are treated differently by law enforcement.

She went on to describe the 2001 shooting of Bruce Browne, a 40 year-old black man who stopped at a gas station to buy cigarettes. Attacked by a gun-wielding teen, he wrested a pistol away from his assailant while pinned to the ground. When the attacker and his friend fled the scene, Browne stood up, gun in hand, only to be shot back down by an officer who assumed he was the perpetrator.

Browne survived to win a $200,000 settlement from the Police Bureau.

But Loving continued with language that did not appear in the editorial:

Anyone in the throes of a violent attack of course must take any step to get help from the appropriate agency. Please use your common sense in deciding when it's best to call in the authorities. Also bear in mind the unintended consequences of that which can affect communities of color in the Portland metro area as well as individuals living with mental illness. Where communities can help resolve the individual needs of their deeply depressed, despondent brothers and sisters, that is to be encouraged, is the point.

We polled African-American community leaders for their responses to The Skanner. Jo Ann Bowman, executive director of Oregon Action, offered support for the paper's stance:

I think that the Skanner is providing thought provoking information to its readers. I agree that community members have to consider whether or not the police will make the situation better or worse. Clearly we are calling the wrong people when someone has a mental health crisis so I agree that people need to second guess that call for help.

But Karol Collymore, a recent candidate for state Senate, said that avoiding police is not the answer:

I do not agree that people of color should stop calling the police when they are in need. They are not in charge of us, we are in charge of them and we need to demand that changes be made from the inside or unarmed residents will continue to be impacted.

The demand for change cannot just come from the African American and Latino and mental health communities. In my opinion, there is more impact when a person in a position of leadership - that is not in the affected class - speaks their truth about what is happening in our city. That person (or people) can and should stand along these communities and make it clear that Portland is not this kind of city and will work with citizens to make effective, long-lasting change.

Police Chief Rosie Sizer provided OMC with this brief statement:

The Portland Police Bureau is working hard to reduce its use of force, with demonstrable results. Incidents like that involving Aaron Campbell strain our relationship with minority communities. We look forward to working with the community to improve our performance and welcome its commitment to solving community problems.

UPDATE (2/16, 5:27 pm): Below the break, State Rep. and former KGW reporter Lew Frederick adds: "I realize that the day to day interactions of community policing are just not interesting to many journalists. But the constant drumbeat of outrageous attacks and actions in mainstream media (news and drama series) do not help."

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman didn't win friends among local media this week.

On Wednesday, Saltzman walked back remarks he made to Willamette Week's James Pitkin, that Police Chief Rosie Sizer would be retiring this year. Saying Sizer "wasn't happy" about the story, he told The Oregonian, "I explained to her that the context of the question was what other things might be on my plate this year."

Was the commissioner saying his words were taken out of context? Regardless, Pitkin was bothered enough by the implication to post the audio and a defense.

Today, The Mercury's Matt Davis took offense upon learning that the commissioner held a press conference without them. The police bureau says that excluding the paper was accidental:

"I want to apologize, I really want to tell you that it's nothing about the Mercury," says backup PIO Greg Stewart. "I had a list of what I thought were the media contacts, and it turns out that I didn't invite a load of other folks."

"Mary [Wheat, for whom Stewart was filling in] was getting a root canal, and I was supposed to do this and I didn't do it appropriately," he says. "It's not just you, I just got off the phone with the Associated Press—how the PIO forgets the Associated Press, that should have been a big red flag right there."

The Mercury was also excluded from a press conference in November on the suspension of an officer who had tasered a 12 year-old girl and who had previously been involved in the death of James Chasse, a mentally ill, unarmed man. Today's event was on the death of Aaron Campbell, an unarmed man whom an officer had shot in the back.

Davis, The Mercury's news editor, has taken a critical tone toward police over these incidents. His paper is unusual in that its news department expresses editorial opinions, which, had these exclusions not been accidental, could be cause for strained relations.

UPDATE (2/13, 10:24 am): Corrected to report that Pitkin interviewed Saltzman, and Stewart works for the police bureau.