The C-Suite Generation


Share this article! Editor’s letter Business magazines used to be niche publications catering to corporate executives, business owners and managers. Then the world flattened: The economy collapsed, Internet technologies democratized entrepreneurship, and business jargon, from credit default swaps to the Lehman Brothers, became part of the national vocabulary. No longer (solely) an old boys’ network, … Read more

Editor’s letter

Business magazines used to be niche publications catering to corporate executives, business owners and managers. Then the world flattened: The economy collapsed, Internet technologies democratized entrepreneurship, and business jargon, from credit default swaps to the Lehman Brothers, became part of the national vocabulary.

No longer (solely) an old boys’ network, the world of business is now populated by stay-at-home moms, 20-something hipsters, even teenagers, many of whom view the world through an entrepreneurial lens. Meanwhile, as government funding dries up, thought leaders who historically shied away from or disdained the private sector are being swept up in an increasingly market-dominated theater of operations. 

We feature some of these newly minted businesspeople in our cover story about the privatization of science and the new era of research philanthropy. Stepping down from the ivory tower, scientists are taking on new roles as pitchmen: courting wealthy executives whose coffers can help replace sagging federal research dollars.

As a business ethos spreads, business magazines are becoming more expansive in their coverage, with stories about lifestyle, science, architecture, urban planning, etc., joining evergreen articles about finance, leadership, sales and management. Today business is less a stand-alone sector of human endeavor than it is the foundation of many things changing in the modern world. 

Oregon Business has always taken a big-tent approach to business news, with a focus on deeply reported stories that unfold at the intersection between economy, culture, politics, environment and technology.

But as interest in private-sector practices spirals upward, we thought it was time to expand our reach to readers who may fall outside the traditional business category. So I’m excited to announce that our July/August issue marks an expansion of our newsstand presence; Oregon Business is now available in grocery stores and bookstores, including Safeway, WinCo and Barnes & Noble. Look for us to appear in more retail outlets in the future.

In other news, I’m proud to announce that Oregon Business captured two silver (second place) awards from the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) this year. I won an award for my February 2013 profile of Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle. Freelancer Jennifer Margulis was honored for her July/August 2013 story on wolf tourism in Eastern Oregon.

From publicly traded companies to innovative ventures monetizing endangered species: Business media, and I say this modestly, now covers the world.

— Linda