"My first reporting job in public media was as the Central Oregon correspondent for Oregon Public Broadcasting, based in Bend - a city that proudly claims to be the largest in the U.S. more than 100 miles from an interstate highway. I covered the concerns of rural Oregonians, from the tensions around "backyard burning" of household trash to the joys of mushroom foraging. It remains the best job I've ever had."
"But very early in my time as a reporter in Bend, editors I'd be working with in Portland, Seattle or Washington, D.C., would ask, "When are you going to move?" or "When do you get a job at a bigger station?" That was a tried-and-true method of moving up in the world of public radio: Start at a small station and slowly move to better-resourced stations in bigger cities. And the job ladder mirrored the structure of public radio's network itself."
A reporter describes working as a Central Oregon correspondent based in Bend, covering rural concerns from backyard trash burning to mushroom foraging. Early career expectations emphasized moving from small stations to larger ones in Portland, Seattle, or Washington, as a pathway to better resources and advancement. That career ladder reflected a broader public media hub-and-spoke system, concentrating talent, ideas, and news in major city hubs. The legacy hub-and-spoke model created friction for smaller markets and for movement of journalists and content. A point-to-point approach, modeled on upstart airlines, offers an opportunity to decentralize and redesign public media systems.
Read at Nieman Lab
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