Coverstory
Brainstorm NW
In the post-Revolutionary War period, as the
nation struggled to define itself and ratify a new constitution, small
newspapers sprung up to spread the word across the colonies about the
conflicting ideas and critical choices hanging in the balance. The Aurora
and Porcupine’s Gazette were both supported by monied interests
in the newly united states of America. That these early news pamphlets
reported with a particular bias was no more a secret than the New York
Times’ political bias is today.
Agrarian interests in favor of stronger states’ rights, led by
Thomas Jefferson, waged a war of words with financial/industrial interests
in favor of stronger federal authority, led by Alexander Hamilton. In
the heat of this fight, the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the
Congress in 1798, which resulted in one of the newspaper editors being
sent back to England and another being jailed and eventually killed. Among
other things, the acts made it illegal to “print, utter, or publish
… any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the
government. Though later repealed, the acts are a cautionary example of
the coercive power of government.
It was a wild and wooly time full of intrigue, fierce political battles
and bitter rivalries. Those early newspapers, first to operate under the
constitution that guaranteed a free press, faced many challenges, from
maintaining adequate funding to legal persecution by political adversaries
— not for the faint of heart and not so different from the politics
and challenges today. Some things never change. Though both Jefferson
and Hamilton would be outraged that the conflict today is between business
and government, rather than segments of business.
But it appears that the press is in a period of transformation. Print
publications across the country now face upheaval in the industry that
threatens their survival. Electronic media have crowded out countless
print publications as readers turn to television and the Internet for
“free” news. At the same time, heavy political bias demonstrated
by many newspapers has diminished their credibility and readership, while
contributing to their own demise.
For the past 12 years, BrainstormNW has published in Oregon and been
read by thousands of well-educated, active, thoughtful citizens. We, of
course, are a niche magazine, not a newspaper. Did we have a message,
a slant, like the Aurora of 1798? Yes. For 12 years we have sounded the
alarm that Oregon’s business climate was rapidly cooling. We have
made the case that our planet was just as likely to be cooling and that
the global warming fanatics were just that, con artists seeking power
and financial gain. For 12 years we warned that ignoring the rich resources
of rural Oregon was foolhardy and would lead to poverty and social decay.
For 12 years we have sounded the alert that 22 years of one-party rule
by Democrats would eventually corrupt, and that the concentrated power,
numbers and inflated pensions and benefits of public unions would undermine
and finally destroy Oregon’s economy.
And now we will be silent. Like the Aurora and Porcupine’s Gazette,
our time has ended. This month’s issue, February 2009, will be our
last. We were the voice of many Oregonians, but we have been stilled by
the failing economy we predicted for this past decade. Ironic. Sad. In
this instance it has been less than gratifying to be right. But given
that a pro-business publication in Oregon is a bit more of a rare hothouse
orchid than an old growth Doug fir, it is not surprising that we could
not weather the economic and political firestorm. Still, for our writers,
editors and readers, the loss of this 12-year endeavor is painful.
At BNW we have always believed that our region needed a stronger private
sector. We also have always believed, unlike those in state and local
government, including and especially our governor, that business and government
are not entrepreneurial partners. Rather, they have separate roles to
play. Business creates wealth, and government provides services. In Oregon,
business organizations and government leaders often spread what we believe
to be a false message: that business and government, working together
as equal partners, will grow the economy. We believe, in regard to wealth
creation, that the private sector is the engine and the government is
the caboose. That is our system, and if we are to recover more quickly
from present economic troubles, that should be the federal and state emphasis
— getting the private sector healthy again so that it can lead.
Like any small business, publishing a magazine for 12 years has been
work, but it also has been a lot of fun. We like to think that we’ve
had our share of editorial successes during that period. In 2001, Willamette
Industries Chairman of the Board Bill Swindells used the pages of BNW
to open the bidding with Weyerhaeuser during the hostile takeover. In
another issue we called for the resignation of University of Oregon President
Dave Frohnmayer because he allowed Phil Knight’s money for the expansion
of Autzen Stadium to be blocked. We also helped State Sen. Vicki Walker
begin to unmask Neil Goldschmidt by exposing the intimidation she suffered
when she questioned his confirmation as chair of Oregon’s Higher
Ed Board. We chronicled the sometimes contentious, contrasting visions
between Vera Katz and Gert and Tim Boyle over Portland’s economic
future. We provided a forum where then-chairman of the Governor’s
Council of Economic Advisors Ralph Shaw, Schnitzer Steel Industries Chairman
Ken Novack, and Sen. Mark Hatfield could voice their concerns over OHSU’s
reckless use of public money to create a bio-tech neighborhood in Portland’s
South Waterfront. We called out a poorly-researched study published in
Science magazine by an OSU graduate student using U.S. Forest Service
funds to argue that salvage logging the Biscuit Fire would actually inhibit
forest recovery. No one else in Oregon would have printed those stories.
No one.
Of course, when you make a career arguing against the prevailing orthodox
— in other words an unapologetic pro-business position — there
will be harassment from the establishment. And there was. The editor and
the publisher of BNW both suffered a few good licks from Gov. John Kitzhaber’s
Department of Justice who reported them for investigation to the IRS and
from Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury over a possible election
violation during the 2006 gubernatorial race between Gov. Kulongoski and
Republican Ron Saxton. And like the editors of the Aurora and the Porcupine,
we knew better than to rely on the law to protect us, especially in the
highly partisan political environment of blue Oregon.
Editorial victories and troubles aside, as we prepare to exit Oregon’s
civic stage, the condition of Oregon’s economy deeply concerns us.
It’s sad, even painful, to see the state hurting so badly in ways
that easily could have been avoided. There’s a ski resort in rural
southern Oregon that might have brought 1,000 jobs that was never built
because only 32 of 34 endangered species could be satisfactorily monitored
and protected. There’s a 36-hole golf resort in Rickreall that was
never built because it didn’t coincide with some urbanite’s
planning and growth agenda. Today, there are small towns in Oregon whose
number one industry is meth distribution. The litany of wasted opportunity
in this beautiful state is endless and shameful.
For the last decade, Oregonians have refused to use their land and their
renewable natural resources to maintain a healthy middle class. Oregonians
have been led to believe that new economies, the high-tech economy or
the green economy, would evolve the state beyond relying on its land and
resources. This is a false promise — and as long as we believe it,
we will suffer poverty and malaise.
BNW has fought mightily to shake Oregonians out of their provincial stupor
that “things look different here,” that we could rewrite the
rules of the global economy, rewrite fundamental business practices. Even
as we exit the stage, we stand our ground on these ongoing disputes. And
we thank our readers, contributors, advertisers, and owners, and yes,
even you, our adversaries, for making our voice possible these last 12
years.
We are not among the believers that print is dying. Transforming, yes;
dying, no. The public will always have an appetite for print, for news,
for the truth. Perhaps as the editor of the Aurora lay in the muddy ditch
where he died an ignoble death, he thought that his life work had been
for naught because his publication was gone, his printing press was silent,
his voice was extinguished. But of course history proved otherwise. He
didn’t live to see it, but he had left his mark. His tiny publication
deeply influenced the course of history and the direction of our nation.
Words matter, individual voices matter. The news, the truth, will always
find a voice, and when there is a new way to tell it, you will hear from
us again.
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