View source for Willamette Week

{{short description|Alternative weekly newspaper in published in Portland, Oregon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name             = Willamette Week
| logo             = Willamette Week logo.png
| image            = Willametteweek.jpg
| caption          = Cover
| type             = [[Alternative newspaper|Alternative weekly]]
| format           = [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|Tabloid]]
| founded          = November 1974
| owners           = City of Roses Newspapers
| circulation      = 25,000
| circulation_date = 2023
| circulation_ref  = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Willamette Week Media Kit 2023 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bb43b3a7eb88c62ed915463/t/6441a7c9a6989c032f5a8e11/1682024431940/WW_MK23_420.pdf |access-date=2023-04-24}}</ref>
| founder          = Ronald A. Buel
| publisher        = Anna Zusman<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wweek.com/contact-us/|title=Contact Us|website=Willamette Week|language=en-US}}</ref> (2023–)
| editor           = Mark Zusman
| headquarters     = 2220 NW Quimby St.<br>[[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon|OR]] 97210<br>US
| ISSN             = 2640-5857
| eISSN            = 2997-5735
| oclc             = 54813570
| website          = {{URL|wweek.com}}
}}

'''''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===
''Willamette Week'' was founded in 1974 by Ronald A. Buel,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 17, 1974 |title=Weekly Newspaper Planned |work=Oregon Journal |pages=2}}</ref> who served as its first publisher.<ref name=pbj-apr99>{{cite news|last=Bellotti|first=Mary|title=Alternative success story|newspaper=[[Portland Business Journal]]|date=April 25, 1999|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1999/04/26/story7.html|access-date=August 28, 2012|archive-date=June 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610203740/http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1999/04/26/story7.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  It was later owned by the Eugene [[The Register-Guard|''Register-Guard'']], which sold it in the fall of 1983 to Richard H. Meeker  and [[Mark Zusman]],<ref name=oreg-jan84>Nicholas, Jonathan (January 9, 1984). "Free, and fresh, weekly". ''[[The Oregonian]]'', p. B1.</ref> who took the positions of publisher and [[Editor-in-chief|editor]], 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.<ref name=pbj-apr99/> 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 [[Newspaper circulation|paid circulation]] at that time, with about 12,000 [[subscriber]]s.<ref name=oreg-jan84/>

===Post-merger===
A major change was made in January 1984, when ''Fresh Weekly'' was merged into ''WW'', the paper's [[print run]] was increased to 50,000 and paid circulation was discontinued, with ''WW'' thereafter being distributed free.<ref name="oreg-jan84" /> WW increased circulation to 90,000 copies by 2007.<ref name="E&P" /> Circulation has declined to 50,000 by March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/03/14/portland-mercury-halts-print-editions-amid-coronavirus-shutdowns/|title=Portland Mercury Halts Print Editions Amid Coronavirus Shutdowns|last=Mesh|first=Aaron|date=March 14, 2020|website=Willamette Week|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=2020-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317132923/https://www.wweek.com/news/2020/03/14/portland-mercury-halts-print-editions-amid-coronavirus-shutdowns/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2015, Richard Meeker stepped down as ''Willamette Week''{{'}}s publisher, after more than 31 years in the position.<ref name="new publisher">{{cite news|title=WW Has A New Publisher|url=http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-33327-ww_has_a_new_publisher.html|access-date=March 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615005547/http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-33327-ww_has_a_new_publisher.html|archive-date=June 15, 2015|work=Willamette Week|date=June 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name=meeker-2015jun17>{{cite news|last1=Meeker|first1=Richard H.|title=To Our Readers [editorial]|url=http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-24911-to_our_readers.html|access-date=July 6, 2015|work=Willamette Week|date=June 17, 2015|page=5|archive-date=June 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620102112/http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-24911-to_our_readers.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Editor Mark Zusman succeeded him as publisher, while also retaining the editorship.<ref name=meeker-2015jun17/><ref name=pbj-2015jun12>{{cite news|last1=Walker|first1=Mason|title=Willamette Week publisher steps down|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2015/06/willamette-week-publisher-steps-down.html|access-date=July 6, 2015|work=Portland Business Journal|date=June 12, 2015|archive-date=July 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707201746/http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/2015/06/willamette-week-publisher-steps-down.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Meeker planned to continue working for the City of Roses Newspaper Company, WW's owner.<ref name="new publisher"/><ref name=pbj-2015jun12/>

==Finances==
Since 1984, the paper has been free; as of 2007 over 80% of its revenue was generated through display advertising.<ref name="E&P">{{Cite web|url = http://www.editorandpublisher.com/PrintArticle/At-Age-33-Willamette-Week-Has-Best-Year-Ever-For-Display-Ads-Publisher-Says|title = At Age 33, 'Willamette Week' Has Best Year Ever For Display Ads, Publisher Says|date = November 16, 2007|access-date = February 20, 2015|website = Editor & Publisher|archive-date = February 20, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150220164312/http://www.editorandpublisher.com/PrintArticle/At-Age-33-Willamette-Week-Has-Best-Year-Ever-For-Display-Ads-Publisher-Says|url-status = live}}</ref>  For 2007, its revenue was expected to be about $6.25&nbsp;million, a four or five percent increase over 2006, a growth that occurred in spite of a significant decline in [[classified advertising]] that the publisher attributed to competition from [[Craigslist]].<ref name="E&P" /> Its pre-[[tax profit]] in 2006 was around 5%, a third to a half of what large mass-media companies require.<ref name="E&P" />

==Notable stories==
Notable stories first reported by ''WW'' include:

* In 2004, making public [[Neil Goldschmidt]]'s long-concealed [[statutory rape|sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl]]. Goldschmidt, a former [[Governor of Oregon|Oregon governor]], was [[List of mayors of Portland, Oregon|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 ''[[The Oregonian]].'' That interview ran prior to ''Willamette Week''{{'}}s report appearing in print, and was intended to preempt the story's publication.<ref>{{cite news| last=Boulé| first=Margie| url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/01/neil_goldschmidt_sex_abuse_vic.html| work=The Oregonian| title=Neil Goldschmidt's sex-abuse victim tells of the relationship that damaged her life| date=January 31, 2011| access-date=November 17, 2013| archive-date=February 22, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222204738/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/01/neil_goldschmidt_sex_abuse_vic.html| url-status=live}}</ref> However, the alternative weekly did finally get the scoop, breaking the Goldschmidt story first on its website.<ref>{{cite web | first = Nigel | last = Jaquiss | author-link = Nigel Jaquiss | title = The 30-Year Secret | newspaper= Willamette Week | date = May 12, 2004 | url = http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-3198-the_30_year_secret.html | access-date = August 20, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817123210/http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-3198-the_30_year_secret.html | archive-date=August 17, 2011 | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Nigel Jaquiss]] won the [[2005 Pulitzer Prize]] [[Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting|for investigative reporting]] for his work on that story.<ref name="pulitzer">{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=The 2005 Pulitzer Prize Winners - Investigative Reporting |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2005-Investigative-Reporting |access-date=February 20, 2015 |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |archive-date=February 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225125205/http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2005-Investigative-Reporting |url-status=live }}</ref>
*In 2008, ''Willamette Week''<nowiki/>'s Beth Slovic drew a conclusion that former senator [[Gordon H. Smith|Gordon Smith]] employed undocumented workers at his frozen-foods processing operation in Eastern Oregon while acknowledging that she has no definitive proof.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/09/willamette_week_raises_illegal.html|title=Willamette Week raises illegal immigration issue at Gordon Smith's frozen-food plant|last=Mapes|first=Jeff|date=September 10, 2008|website=oregonlive|language=en|access-date=2020-04-28|archive-date=2022-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518223052/https://www.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/09/willamette_week_raises_illegal.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=sr-smith>{{cite news|last=Slovic|first=Beth|title=Señor Smith|date=September 10, 2008|newspaper=Willamette Week|url=http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-9517-sentildeor_smith.html|access-date=November 17, 2013|archive-date=June 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620142857/http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-9517-sentildeor_smith.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2009, reporting that then-City Commissioner [[Sam Adams (Oregon politician)|Sam Adams]] engaged in a sexual relationship with a legislative intern, Beau Breedlove.  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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/adams_says_hell_return_to_work.html|title=Sam Adams decides to stay put; can Portland move on?|last=Griffin|first=Anna|date=January 25, 2009|newspaper=The Oregonian|access-date=November 17, 2013|archive-date=October 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131028074546/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/adams_says_hell_return_to_work.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In 2015, then-Governor [[John Kitzhaber]]'s fiancee, [[Cylvia Hayes]], 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.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Johnson | first1 = Kirk | last2 = Paulson | first2 = Michael | title = Oregon Governor and Fiancée Walked Tangled Path to Exit<!--(print-edition headline)--> | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = February 16, 2015 | page = A1 | orig-year = published online February 15 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/us/politics/oregon-governor-john-kitzhaber-and-fiancee-cylvia-hayes-walked-tangled-path-to-exit.html | access-date = August 3, 2016 | archive-date = December 14, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151214041419/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/us/politics/oregon-governor-john-kitzhaber-and-fiancee-cylvia-hayes-walked-tangled-path-to-exit.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Alumni==

Journalists, writers and artists who have worked at ''Willamette Week'' include:

* [[Mindy Aloff]], dance critic and essayist
* [[Byron Beck (blogger)|Byron Beck]], blogger
* [[John Callahan (cartoonist)|John Callahan]], cartoonist<ref name="oreg-2017jul19">{{cite news |date=July 19, 2017 |title=A fresh look and future memorial to John Callahan at Legacy Good Samaritan Park (photos) |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/07/legacy_good_samaritan_park_and.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304231422/http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/07/legacy_good_samaritan_park_and.html |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |access-date=March 3, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Oregonian]]}}</ref>
* [[Katherine Dunn]], author
* [[Phil Keisling]], former [[Oregon Secretary of State]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Phil Keisling|url=https://www.pdx.edu/cps/phil-keisling|website=Hatfield School of Government: Center for Public Service|publisher=Portland State University|access-date=July 15, 2015|archive-date=July 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716075021/https://www.pdx.edu/cps/phil-keisling|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Susan Orlean]], author

==See also==
* The ''[[Santa Fe Reporter]]'', also published by Richard Meeker and [[Mark Zusman]] from 1997 to 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Narvaiz |first=Matthew |date=2024-08-14 |title=Santa Fe Reporter sells to former Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/business/santa-fe-reporter-sells-to-former-albuquerque-city-councilor-pat-davis/article_29014c5e-5a53-11ef-867d-eb96fadb032b.html |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Albuquerque Journal |language=en}}</ref>
*''[[Indy Week]]'' (Durham, N.C.), also published by Meeker & Zusman since 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sorg |first=Lisa |date=2012-08-22 |title=Steve Schewel announces sale of Independent Weekly |url=https://indyweek.com/api/content/c742cb2d-c96c-5943-abe1-0dea6ddfc09b/ |access-date=2019-10-20 |website=INDY Week |language=en-us}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Willamette Week}}
* [http://wweek.com/ ''Willamette Week'' official site]
* [http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A99 Profile from Association of Alternative Newsweeklies]

{{City of Roses Newspaper Company}}
{{Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association}}

[[Category:1974 establishments in Oregon]]
[[Category:Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1974]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers]]
[[Category:Free newspapers]]