• Rumor has it that The Register-Guard is laying off another 20 employees. The toll this time includes reporter Lillian Schrock, who was let go Friday, and newsroom veteran Diane Dietz, who got laid off on Tuesday. Dietz has bulldogged the leadership chaos and financial shenanigans at the University of Oregon for years. In a gracious Facebook post about her departure, she writes: “We must do all we can to bolster and to comfort the young reporters who — while caught in the squeeze of news economics — must nonetheless provide us with the fruits of their work, the facts that we so desperately need.” She’s right. America needs aggressive, independent journalism now more than ever.
• Blankets, parkas, sweaters, socks, towels, bags of used but still useful stuff have nearly blocked the Weekly’s reception space at 1251 Lincoln Street over the past few months. We have been running a small ad in the paper every week and you readers really have been responding. Richard Hunt, our circulation manager, has hauled five pickup truck loads over to White Bird, where they hand out every item to people in need. We all thank you and hope you will keep caring and contributing.
• Right-wing money from creepy billionaire Robert Mercer is once again slouching into an Oregon political race. Mercer — who helped found the alt-right’s Breitbart news site with a $10 million investment — has poured as much as $1.7 million over the last four congressional elections into Oregon pseudoscientist (remember the urine samples and dumping nuclear waste in the oceans?) Art Robinson’s unsuccessful bid to unseat long-time Fourth District Rep. Peter DeFazio. Mercer is back again, DeFazio says in a email to supporters: “2018 will be their greatest offensive to date, but I know we’ve got what it takes to beat them fair and square.”
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519