''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 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, ...

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

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

, and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

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 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 and publisher of ''Willamette Week'', a media company based in Portlan ...

,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. who took the positions of publisher and

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 ...

, 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 Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulat ...

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. It i ...

Post-merger

A major change was made in January 1984, when ''Fresh Weekly'' was merged into ''WW'', the paper's

print run Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circulat ...

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 use ...

that the publisher attributed to competition from

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is a privately held American company operating a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussi ...

. 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. T ...

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 2004, making public

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (June 16, 1940 – June 12, 2024) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as mayor of Portland, Oregon, ...

'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 April 4, 2005: 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 ...

for investigative reporting for his work on that story. *In 2008, ''Willamette Week'''s Beth Slovic drew a conclusion that former senator Gordon Smith employed undocumented workers at his frozen-foods processing operation in Eastern Oregon while acknowledging that she has no definitive proof. * In 2009, reporting that then-City Commissioner

Sam Adams Samuel Adams (, 1722 – 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 Revolu ...

engaged in a sexual relationship with a legislative intern,

Beau Breedlove Samuel Francis Adams (born September 3, 1963) is an American politician in Portland, Oregon. Adams was mayor of Portland from 2009 to 2012 and previously served on the Portland City Council (Oregon), Portland City Council and as chief of staff ...

. 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 2015, then-Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician and physician who served as the 35th and 37th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2015. In February 2015, shortly after beginning his fourth term, ...

's fiancee,

Cylvia Hayes Cylvia Lynne Hayes (''née'' Johnson, born August 10, 1967) is an American consultant who was the First Lady of Oregon from 2011 to 2015 as the fiancée of former Governor John Kitzhaber. Hayes was an unsuccessful candidate for the Oregon House ...

, 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

Journalists, writers and artists who have worked at ''Willamette Week'' include: * Mindy Aloff, dance critic and essayist *

Byron Beck Byron Beck (born January 25, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 foot 9 inch forward/ center from the University of Denver, Beck was one of six players (along with Louie Dampier, Gerald Govan, Bob Netolicky, St ...

, blogger * John Callahan, cartoonist *

Katherine Dunn Katherine Karen Dunn (October 24, 1945 – May 11, 2016) was an American 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 p ...

, 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 fo ...

, former

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in the line of succession to the List of Governors of Oregon, governor. The duties of the offi ...

Susan Orlean Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is an American 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 artic ...

, 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 Newspapers established in 1974 Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers Free newspapers