Oregon Public Broadcasting

1st congressional district 2012 election 2012 session agriculture art arts author beer births books budget business central oregon college congress crime culture death penalty eastern oregon economy education employment energy environment eugene fishing food gangs gay rights health health care high school history homeless housing jobs law legislature literature living media mental health military movies music native americans obama occupy portland occupy wall street onthejob oregon our town outdoors parenting police politics portland portland business journal portland mayor pregnancy prison public health race rebroadcast recess recession religion republicans rural schools science shooting sports supreme court talking business technology teen theater unemployment union university of oregon washington water weekend women youth

Most of the news I read is online through the websites of local news outlets and national sites such as slate.com. We do subscribe to a local paper, the Oregon City News.
I prefer to read things online for a number of reasons. First, I find the variety and quality of information more compelling as news consumer. Second, I like to interact with my news by looking through slideshows, watching short videos and clicking on related stories. Third, reading the news online eliminates the piles of newspapers on all available flat surfaces (and in our recycling bin).
We subscribe to our local paper because we've found the local outlets and oregonlive.com rarely report on what's happening in our area. I am also frequently amused (or terrified) by the police blotter. Although the editing leaves something to be desired, it is a good way to connect to our community.
I think there are many ways to receive  the "front page" honor mentioned earlier in the show. The first way is to write interesting stories. This can happen online, and, in my experience, this isn't necessarily coming from journalism school graduates. I spent a couple of years chasing my dream to become a journalist. I transferred to the University of Oregon with the intention of earning a degree in journalism, however I quickly became discouraged with the cutthroat attitude that seemed to be based more on "tradition" and a kind of J-school hazing than good writing, compelling ideas and effective pedagogy. I switched my major to English and never looked back.
There are many aspects to this topic and I thank you for entertaining the conversation. I will continue exploring the online news options as they develop!

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
view in context