Oregonian jumps further to the right with new hire
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They may not have hired an actual corporate shill, but the Oregonian today signaled that they’re moving even further to the right by hiring Erik Lukens to be the new Editorial Page Editor.
Lukens comes from the Bend Bulletin, widely viewed as the home to the most conservative editorial board of any major paper in the state. While there, he built up a back catalog of right-wing opinions, steadfastly opposed to taxes, union protections, and spending on basic services like schools. (Unless you’ve got a paid subscription, you won’t be able to read his Bulletin editorials, but here’s a sample courtesy of—surprise surprise—the Oregon Republican Party: http://www.oregonrepublicanparty.org/node/231)
Bottom line: The Oregonian Editorial Board has long been out of touch with its community of readers, taking positions diametrically opposed to their readership on just about every important issue and candidate.
By hiring Lukens to run the Editorial Page, Oregonian Publisher N. Christian Anderson III has made it clear that his intention is to push the paper even further away from their base of subscribers. Oregonian readers who believe their paper should be a reflection of the community will be sorely disappointed.
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This is the next logical step for The Oregonian, as their sad , slow-motion death spiral unfolds. By now, the median age of their paid subscribers must be well north of 50. It makes sense that their editorial policy would veer toward their demographic. That would explain the anti-government drumbeat in their headlines, too.
I stopped subscribing a couple of years ago when they mislead a retired couple into posing by their pool for another attack on public workers. That's yellow journalism, plain and simple, but typical of their reporting. If I'm not mistaken, the O quietly ended their formal status as the "newspaper of record" a couple of years ago. Just another step in their devolution.