''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an

alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

newspaper and a website published in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

, and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

History

Early history

''Willamette Week'' was founded in 1974 by Ronald A. Buel, who served as its first publisher. It was later owned by the Eugene ''Register-Guard'', which sold it in the fall of 1983 to Richard H. Meeker and Mark Zusman,Nicholas, Jonathan (January 9, 1984). "Free, and fresh, weekly". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', p. B1. who took the positions of publisher and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

, respectively. Meeker had been one of the paper's first reporters, starting in 1974, and Zusman had joined the paper as a business writer in 1982. Meeker and Zusman formed City of Roses Newspaper Company to publish ''WW'' and a sister publication, ''Fresh Weekly'', a free guide to local arts and entertainment. ''WW'' had a paid circulation at that time, with about 12,000

subscriber The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...

Post-merger

A major change was made in January 1984, when ''Fresh Weekly'' was merged into ''WW'', the paper's print run was increased to 50,000 and paid circulation was discontinued, with ''WW'' thereafter being distributed free. WW increased circulation to 90,000 copies by 2007. Circulation has declined to 50,000 by March 2020. In June 2015, Richard Meeker stepped down as ''Willamette Week''s publisher, after more than 31 years in the position. Editor Mark Zusman succeeded him as publisher, while also retaining the editorship. Meeker planned to continue working for the City of Roses Newspaper Company, WW's owner.

Features

Prior to his death in 2010, cartoonist John Callahan's long-running comic "Callahan" appeared weekly in the paper, for almost 30 years.

Finances

Since 1984, the paper has been free; as of 2007 over 80% of its revenue was generated through display advertising. For 2007, its revenue was expected to be about $6.25 million, a four or five percent increase over 2006, a growth that occurred in spite of a significant decline in

classified advertising Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used ...

that the publisher attributed to competition from

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark began the ...

. Its pre-

tax profit Taxable income refers to the base upon which an income tax system imposes tax. In other words, the income over which the government imposed tax. Generally, it includes some or all items of income and is reduced by expenses and other deductions. ...

in 2006 was around 5%, a third to a half of what large mass-media companies require.

Notable stories

Notable stories first reported by ''WW'' include: * In 2009, reporting that then-City Commissioner

Sam Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

engaged in a sexual relationship with a legislative intern,

Beau Breedlove Samuel Francis Adams (born September 3, 1963) is an American politician and non-profit leader who is the former mayor of Portland, Oregon. He was elected to a four-year term as mayor of Portland in the May 2008 primary, with 58% of the vote. ...

. Rumors of a relationship between the two men had circulated during Adams' campaign for mayor, but Adams denied any sexual relationship. Only after ''Willamette Week'' contacted Adams for comment on an upcoming story did he admit publicly that there had been a sexual relationship. However, he stipulated that there had been no relationship between them until after Breedlove turned 18. Adams said he'd previously lied about the relationship in order to avoid feeding negative stereotypes of gay men as somehow predatory. *In 2008, ''Willamette Week'''s Beth Slovic drew a conclusion that former senator

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics * Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church *Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician *Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

employed undocumented workers at his frozen-foods processing operation in Eastern Oregon while acknowledging that she has no definitive proof. * Making public

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...

's long-concealed sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl. Goldschmidt, a former

Oregon governor The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

, was mayor of Portland at the time of the abuse. After ''Willamette Week'' contacted him for comments regarding its upcoming story about that alleged misconduct, Goldschmidt went ahead and confessed to the relationship in an interview published in ''

.'' That interview ran prior to ''Willamette Week''s report appearing in print, and was intended to preempt the story's publication. However, the alternative weekly did finally get the scoop, breaking the Goldschmidt story first on its website.

Nigel Jaquiss Nigel Jaquiss (born 1962) is an American journalist who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, for his work exposing former Oregon Governor Neil Goldschmidt's sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl while he was mayor of Portland, ...

won the

2005 Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes for 2005 were announced on 2005-04-04. Journalism *Beat reporting: Amy Dockser Marcus of ''The Wall Street Journal'' for her "stories about patients, families and physicians f theworld of cancer survivors". * Breaking news pho ...

for investigative reporting for his work on that story. *In 2015, then-Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Party ...

's fiancee,

Cylvia Hayes Cylvia Lynne Hayes (''née'' Johnson, born August 10, 1967) is an American consultant who was the ''de facto'' First Lady of Oregon as the fiancée of former Governor John Kitzhaber. Hayes was an unsuccessful candidate for the Oregon House of R ...

, confirmed ''Willamette Week''s report that she married an 18-year-old Ethiopian immigrant in 1997 in exchange for a $5,000 payment so that he could keep his residency to attend school in United States.

Alumni

A number of notable journalists, writers and artists have worked at ''Willamette Week'' over the past several decades, including: *

Mindy Aloff Mindy Aloff (born December 1947 Philadelphia) is an American editor, journalist, essayist, and dance critic. Aloff's wirting on dance, literature, film, and culture have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, and other artilces and pu ...

, dance critic and essayist * Byron Beck * John Callahan, cartoonist *

Katherine Dunn Katherine Karen Dunn (October 24, 1945 – May 11, 2016) was a novelist, journalist, voice artist, radio personality, book reviewer, and poet from Portland, Oregon. She is best known for her novel ''Geek Love'' (1989). She was also a prolific wr ...

, author *

Phil Keisling Phil Keisling (born June 23, 1955) is an American politician and business executive in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Oregon Secretary of State from 1991 to 1999 and previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives. He is known ...

, former

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, c ...

Susan Orlean Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is a journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of ''The Orchid Thief'' and '' The Library Book''. She has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1992, and has contributed articles to many ...

, author

References

External links

''Willamette Week'' official site

Profile from Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
{{Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 1974 establishments in Oregon Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Publications established in 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers