#local-journalism

#local-journalism

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! 👋 Expect another day of extreme "hot" with temps expected to hit 95 degrees before "cooling down" (HAHAHAHAHAAAA!) on Tuesday with a high of 92. The rest of the week is predicted to be much more reasonable, with the temps varying between the low-80s and mid-70s, but don't pack away those thongs just yet! Instead? Let's pack away some NEWS.

SB 79, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, mandates that six- to seven-story residential buildings be built within a half-mile radius of any qualifying transit stops, which include some bus stops. This is beyond what has already been mandated along linear corridors and with the housing elements plan. A single-family home neighborhood currently has about eight houses per acre. These will be near developments that cannot be stopped if this bill passes.

A dozen recently shuttered newspapers across Wyoming and South Dakota are set to publish again, after buyers stepped up within days to prevent the rural communities from becoming "news deserts" where little or no local media remains. The swift rescues stand out in an industry where roughly two and a half newspapers disappear each week, according to a 2024 report from the Medill School of Journalism.

Local news has long been integral to my career, starting from the Albuquerque Tribune to various desks at The New York Times, and I’m still invested in its sustainability.

Wednesday's budget discussions resurfaced tensions over police funding, particularly after a few councilors threw around the word "defunding" to describe the shift of an extra $2 million from the Portland Police Bureau's budget to the parks bureau. Councilors Angelita Morillo and Candace Avalos chastised their colleagues who used a boogeyman approach to drum up public fear over the move. "I'm not interested in slogans that are just trying to make political tension out of what is a fiscal responsibility," Avalos asserted.

The Paper is a new mockumentary series set in Toledo, Ohio, focused on a struggling local newspaper, featuring a fresh cast alongside familiar faces from The Office.

Darius Anderson emphasized that the transition to MediaNews Group was crucial for maintaining a viable and independent local press in the North Bay community.

If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us.

Senate Bill 686 aims to mandate compensation for local news organizations from Google and Facebook for the content they use, addressing the decline in local journalism.

The Houston Landing raised $20 million from various supporters but announced its shuttering after less than two years due to unsustainable financial challenges.

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