Letter from the Editor: We’re investing in business news

Previous yr about this time, we released on a challenge to search at the difficulties confronting downtown Portland following (we’d hoped) the top of the pandemic and protests. That project, “Downtown in Distress,” bundled reporting on homelessness, the mood of downtown inhabitants and the difficulties for retailers, as nicely as benefits from an impartial poll.

The delta and omicron variants threw a wrench in expectations for a speedy return to usual in 2021. And just a week ago, a lot more negative news. A longtime retailer, Margulis Jewelers, introduced it was closing its landmark downtown keep.

“Customers are hesitant to come downtown to store,” owner David Margulis said in a information release. “Employees opt for not to operate downtown.”

It’s crystal clear that a lot more than two several years into the pandemic, Portland has significant economic problems. And The Oregonian/OregonLive carries on to make investments in company reporting.

“We’re mobilizing all around a purpose to protect all aspects of Oregonians’ financial life, from the outcomes of the point out and national economy, to browsing for merchandise and solutions, to housing, individual finance, and get the job done lifestyle,” stated Elliot Njus, who sales opportunities our Small business & Economic climate team.

Njus beforehand lined true estate/housing, transportation and other topics. Most a short while ago, he led the enhancement of podcasts for our newsroom.

Protection of two major firms in our spot falls to veteran enterprise reporters Mike Rogoway and Jeff Manning.

Rogoway is Oregon’s indispensable read through for information about Intel, a single of the state’s major non-public businesses. At the get started of the pandemic, he pretty much singlehandedly birddogged the issues the Oregon Work Department experienced obtaining jobless gains to Oregonians.

With politics reporter Hillary Borrud in 2020, he broke the tale of how Oregon’s failure to waive a week’s hiatus just before rewards started off would price tag Oregonians more than $100 million in federal reduction. The governor immediately vowed to eliminate the “waiting week.”

Rogoway, who has a master’s of business enterprise administration from University of Washington, also addresses technological know-how, software and connected businesses. He keeps an eye on rising corporations as nicely, these kinds of as Dutch Bros, the travel-through espresso chain that had its first public supplying last yr.

Manning handles Nike, as properly as associated providers and the intersection of sporting activities and company. He also studies on wellbeing treatment firms and specializes in investigative work with an eye towards white collar criminal offense.

Jamie Goldberg, who had covered the Portland Timbers/Thorns and the Portland Path Blazers for us, transferred to business enterprise when athletics shut down at the start of the pandemic in 2020. She has expended the previous two yrs masking the unemployed, the plight of tenants and landlords, and the struggles and successes of small enterprises.

Goldberg, who has a master’s degree in journalism from College of California, Berkeley, is also a breaking news editor portion of the 7 days.

A further relative newcomer to the crew is Jayati Ramakrishnan, who joined The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2019 from the Hermiston Herald. She started off on the breaking news team but now addresses transportation and housing. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon College of Journalism and Communications.

Just this month, we have included even far more reporting firepower. Kristine de Leon handles retail, little small business and other company traits for us, this sort of as her the latest explainer on why gasoline prices fluctuate so significantly dependent on which Oregon county you are in.

De Leon was pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology prior to catching the reporting bug. She gained her master’s in journalism from College of Southern California. She is expert in data investigation, coding and world wide web development, which will serve her properly as she explores business enterprise and financial developments.

When I begun at The Oregonian in 1983, the Business office, like the relaxation of the newsroom, was predominantly staffed by adult men. What several females reporters we experienced have been primarily in the features department, creating for the Living section. It’s great to have a group of Business enterprise reporters with these assorted lifestyle encounters, perspectives and passions.

The team’s perform is supplemented by other reporters, this kind of as Ted Sickinger, who handles forestry and utilities Borrud, who reports on state governing administration and politics and Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, who is on the Portland City Corridor defeat.

We know fascination in company subjects is strong. We can see that through the significant quantities of persons who examine articles on OregonLive and adhere to us on social media (On Twitter, @OregonianBiz has the 2nd most important next immediately after our key account). You can sign up for our Oregon Business enterprise Insights publication at oregonlive.com/newsletters.

The Oregonian/OregonLive’s employees still left our downtown places of work and went to remote do the job March 17, 2020. This spring, we hope some journalists will return to our offices alongside Southwest 1st Avenue and many others will go on to function remotely. I hope to see our reporters and editors again going to workplaces, covering activities, and assembly sources for espresso facial area to experience, just as often as we used to. I’m seeking ahead to spending much more of my time in our downtown newsroom all over again.

Be aware: Longtime Oregon civic chief Gerry Frank was requested to generate a column for The Oregonian again in 1988. His column, named “Friday Surprise” just after the Meier & Frank revenue by that title, appeared in the A segment for many several years.

Much more recently, in the attributes section, his well-known regular monthly column highlighted Oregon travel and dining potential customers for viewers. Frank died March 13 at age 98. We know audience will miss his insightful ideas and insights, as will we.