A Letter From Our Publisher

2024 has been a big year for WW.

We turned 50. That’s an incredible milestone for a small local business (in journalism no less!). Reading through old issues, I find it hard not to feel reverence for the role this paper has played in both shaping and championing Portland. It’s hard to imagine where this city would be without it. And it’s hard not to feel some sense of distress (or is it nostalgia?) looking at a 112-page paper in 1992 compared to our 28-pager last week.

And yet, we’re producing some of the best work we’ve ever done—and reaching more readers than ever.

Over the past 12 months, our investigative reporting has led the city to lease a new garage for its neglected mechanics, the state to investigate city candidates trying to game the public campaign financing system, and federal regulators to crack down on the pension machinations of Robert Pamplin Jr. That’s just a small sample of the changes shaping our city that’s come as a direct result of WW’s reporting. Click here for an overview of some of our impact in 2024.

We dedicated an extraordinary amount of time to preparing our readers for the November election. This included conducting hundreds of candidate interviews, launching a new newsletter focused on election coverage, and providing weekly guidance on how to vote and navigate our new form of city government. Our endorsements remain the most relied upon voting advice issued by any media outlet in the city, according to local pollsters.

Robin Bacior took the helm of our Arts & Culture desk in early 2024, and I’m proud of the work produced under her leadership. Her team is regularly guiding readers to undiscovered corners of Portland and Oregon, like the recent firsthand account of the late-night poker table at the Kit Kat Club or the hot dog stand inside a motorcycle shop. Her team also produces considered long-form pieces, something nearly extinct in local culture journalism these days.

Great reporting isn’t always defined by tangible outcomes—it’s also about offering readers a deeper understanding and a critical perspective of a moment in time, a subculture, or a movement. Staff writer Rachel Saslow did this beautifully in her cover story about the aversion and aspiration surrounding the arrival of Soho House, and in her dive into the changing cellphone policy at Portland Public Schools. Assistant culture editor Andrew Jankowski regularly covers local drag performers, celebrating the importance of their artistry and their resilience.

Behind the pages, we made a lot of strides this year to better connect with our readers, improve our accessibility, and celebrate the people who got us to 50 years. We revamped our magazine distribution strategy, leading to more reliable pickup spots. We partnered with Portland State University on our Best of Portland Readers’ Poll, which was deeply felt by Portland’s small businesses over the summer. We launched an Adopt-A-Box program for our blue boxes. (To date, 58 readers have been stewards of their neighborhoods’ blue boxes.) We conducted a large reader survey in spring that continues to inform editorial decisions. We upgraded a lot of very old machines across our office with new laptops and introduced new software to assist in analytics reporting.

We hired a new education reporter, a full-time Friends of Willamette Week manager (previously managed part time), and a new account executive on our sales team who has inched up our advertising business. We also produced a retrospective book of Willamette Week covers and an ambitious 50th anniversary issue. We’re nearly halfway to our goal of raising $8.5 million for local nonprofits as part of our annual fundraising campaign Give!Guide.

We pull off all of this with 19 full-time employees and four part-time staffers.

We are swimming against the tide.

You’ve likely read about the dire state of employment in journalism. We’ve seen a major decline in media this year alone, with national news outlets going through rounds of layoffs. Here in Oregon, family-run EO Media Group reduced circulation, cut staff by 15%, and then sold its 12 newspapers to a Mississippi-based media chain that continues to pursue layoffs. The same Mississippi company purchased all of Pamplin Media Group earlier this year.

But Willamette Week remains in the black, though our profit margins are slim as we reinvest our earnings in our journalism as aggressively as we can.

Our success, or rather our perseverance, is largely due to an incredible staff that punches above its weight. Last month, we held a 50th anniversary party for WW alumni, where current staff and 300-plus former WWers gathered (many traveling from across the country) to celebrate our birthday with us. The room was filled with a tangible sense of pride and connection, as people shared stories of how working at Willamette Week carried genuine meaning and tied them to a purpose beyond themselves. That pride is just as alive today as it was years ago—and I see it every day with a staff that holds itself to a high standard and leans in way beyond its job descriptions.

The other major factor in our staying power is a readership that understands that to sustain good journalism, you must support it financially. Friends of Willamette Week, our membership program, now comprises nearly 20% of our revenue. Simply put, we wouldn’t be where we are without readers like you.

What’s next.

We have ambitious plans for next year, led by me and our editor Aaron Mesh, who is stepping up from his role as managing editor. On top of our regular reporting, weekly newspapers, quarterly magazines, events, and Give!Guide, we will also give our website a face-lift, expand our Arts & Culture coverage by adding an A&C-focused newsletter, launch a new event, and pursue shifts in our publishing strategy for greater internal efficiency, a better reader experience and a more digital-first approach.

And yet, we cannot do this without your support. If you don’t yet, please join Friends of Willamette Week with a sustaining monthly donation. The best way to support our future is by becoming a monthly donor. One-time donations are wonderful as well, but monthly giving allows us to plan our future strategically in a way that provides stability.

And, if you have comments about our journalism or other feedback, feel free to reach out to me at azusman@wweek.com.

Thank you for your continuing engagement with our journalism and for being committed to the betterment of our city. You are our reason for being.

Anna Zusman

Publisher