Mark Zusman (born 1954) is the founder and director of the Oregon Journalism Project a non-profit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon. He was formerly the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, 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, organization, a ...

and publisher of ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'', a media company based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He was the paper's editor since 1983,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 West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', p. B1. and became its publisher in 2015, when Richard Meeker stepped down from that position. ''Willamette Week'' is part of the City of Roses Newspaper Company, which once owned the '' Santa Fe Reporter'' in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, and ''

Indy Week ''Indy Week'', formerly known as the ''Independent Weekly'' and originally the ''North Carolina Independent'', is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, and distributed throughout the Re ...

'' in The Triangle area of North Carolina.

Career

Zusman and business partner Richard Meeker created City of Roses in 1982. In 2005, ''Willamette Week'' became the first and only weekly newspaper to win the

Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

and the first to win a Pulitzer for a story that was first published on the web. In 1986, Zusman was awarded the

Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Awards, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was e ...

for Business Journalism for stories he wrote about

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

, and in 1987 he won the Bruce Baer Award for journalism in Oregon for his coverage of Portland homeless advocate Michael Stoops. In 2013, Zusman was inducted into the

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Hall of Achievement. During a 2016 roundtable discussion of local and national politics on an edition of

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

's "Think Out Loud", he strongly criticized ''

'' for not endorsing a candidate in the presidential race. Zusman has been the president of the board of the Independent Media Institute based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He was elected to the board of the

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based

Association of Alternative Newsweeklies The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. It provides services to many generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. A ...

(now the Association of Alternative Newsmedia) in 2005 and later served as its president. He serves as a judge for the

Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism The Ancil Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism was created at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication in 1999. The award was created "to honor the journalist of integrity and character who reports with insight and clarit ...

. A 1970s graduate of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

's School of Journalism and Communication (SJOC), where he earned a Master's in Journalism, Zusman has served as a guest lecturer at SJOC. He has lectured at the Academy of Alternative Journalism at the

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and the

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (often abbreviated to The Cronkite School by its students and faculty), is one of the 24 independent schools at Arizona State University and is named in honor of veteran broadcast jo ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He is also a former

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

East–West Center The East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peop ...

MusicfestNW and TechfestNW

Zusman and Meeker were the founders of MusicfestNW, a two-decades-old music festival that took place in clubs throughout Portland and on the waterfront each summer. He was the founder of TechfestNW, an annual technology conference in Portland, Oregon which launched in 2011. As a frequent moderator, he brings a journalistic lens to main stage interviews with leaders in the tech space. Recent interviews have included technology journalist

Kara Swisher Kara Anne Swisher ( ; born December 11, 1962) is an American journalist. She has covered the business of the internet since 1994. As of 2023, Swisher was a contributing editor at ''New York (magazine), New York Magazine'', the host of the podcast ...

, co-founder of Recode; and

David Plouffe David Plouffe (; born May 27, 1967) is an American political and business strategist best known as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign. He was the senior advisor to Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential cam ...

, Obama campaign manager and former Uber exec.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zusman, Mark Living people 1954 births Journalists from Portland, Oregon University of Oregon faculty Northwestern University faculty Editors of Oregon newspapers Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Jewish American journalists Jews from Oregon