Politicker.com lays off Oregon staff
According to Politico, the political Web site Politicker.com has scaled back operations and laid off staff in several states, including Oregon.
From Politico:
Politicker.com, the network of state political websites, is cutting back from 17 to six sites, concentrated in the northeast.A source said that some staffers were just notified this morning of the decision, with their email addresses abruptly shut down by management.
But Kushner only spoke positively of the Politicker’s employees, saying that they’d assembled “one of the most talented and enthusiastic staffs throughout the country.”
It remains up in the air, which, if any states could be reopened in the future. That will depend primarily on maintaining profitability in 2009. But for now at least, the state sites will remain live, even if not being updated in a similar fashion.
The editors and writers here at Blue Oregon wish the talented Britten Chase good luck and all the best.
Discuss.
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Dec. 14, 2008
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Dec 14, '08
I thought it was interesting that Britten's farewell post was yanked from the front page of the site after being up for a few hours.
Dec 14, '08
I found it interesting too, and I wonder if my comment critical of politickeror.com could have played a role (I chastised them for being little more that a repository of press releases from the various campaigns, with little to no original reporting).
No great loss in my book.
6:01 p.m.
Dec 14, '08
The only interaction I had with Britten was the welcome we gave to Gordon Smith at his walk about in Hillsboro. She (and Carla) were pretty pushy at getting to Gordon for a comment. I liked her style and thought she gave a very credible report of events she attended. Her reports were different from political spin and opinion we get elsewhere and I'll miss her reports.
Dec 14, '08
Now can we find out who Wally Edge is? Anyone? Anyone?
6:30 p.m.
Dec 14, '08
I say good riddance. PolitickerOR was nothing more than the People Magazine of Oregon politics. They ran on hunches and anonymous tips and looked like fools most of the time. I won't miss it one bit.
I don't know Britten, but I am sure he will find a gig somewhere.
Dec 14, '08
hey verasoie - that comment you left on Britten's farewell note was totally classless. Getting laid off right before Christmas and you dance on the grave. Are you heartless or just an idiot? Good luck Britten! I wish you well in the future.
2:56 a.m.
Dec 15, '08
I thought PolitickerOR was a great idea - web-only politics-only coverage. And while Britten showed an instinct for getting at some interesting stories, I thought the rest of the operation really suffered from a lack of professionalism -- acting as if speculative gossip from hacks is hard news, the dismal failure of copyediting, and - worst of all - a failure to correct basic errors, even once they'd been pointed out by commenters.
Dec 15, '08
Hi all. I wanted to thank everyone for the support; it's been a rough weekend. Also, I wanted to let you know that the editors took down all the goodbye posts from all the sites they are shutting down, so it's no one's fault. I don't know why they got taken down. I put mine up for two reasons: first, I kept all my contact information stored on my Politicker e-mail account which was closed shortly after they let us go. I had no way to reach people, so I was trying to get people to reach me. Second, I just wanted to let everyone know that it's been a pleasure and an absolute honor covering politics in this state. Thanks so much for the opportunity. I won't forget it.
Brit Chase
Dec 15, '08
Ken,
Your comment is misguided and, frankly, stupid--- by expressing my (low) opinion of politickeror.com I'm in no way dancing on anyone's grave.
What, somehow you think that a political website is not the appropriate place to comment on the quality of political coverage? Thankfully there are others who appreciate honesty and high-quality journalism, and will call out sites that offer poor-quality reporting:
"The rest of the operation really suffered from a lack of professionalism -- acting as if speculative gossip from hacks is hard news, the dismal failure of copyediting, and - worst of all - a failure to correct basic errors, even once they'd been pointed out by commenters."