On the Scene: Online reputation management

“Do one or two things well,” said Josh Breese, director of strategy at Anvil Media. “Don’t do everything poorly.” Breese was one of four panelists who participated in an Oregon Business forum yesterday on social media and online reputation management.  Speakers talked about the importance of responding to negative online reviews, organic vs. paid media … Read more

What Portland can learn from Alabama

A little over a year ago, I took a road trip around the Deep South. My kids and I flew into Atlanta, drove to Birmingham, Alabama, and from there retraced the state’s Civil Rights Trail in Selma and Montgomery. It was my first visit to that part of the country, and I was surprised — naively … Read more

OB research editor lands data journalism fellowship

We are thrilled to announce that research editor Kim Moore has been selected as a fellow for the SABEW Goldschmidt Data Immersion workshop in Washington DC. The five-day workshop, to take place in January 2018, is designed to help participants understand how the government uses data. Journalists will meet with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic … Read more

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Cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson predicted the future of retail: Less stuff, plenty of food and coding

Neal Stephenson is a prescient guy. In Snow Crash, his hugely popular novel published in 1992, the Seattle cyberfiction writer described an America of the future that excelled at four things: coding, music, movies and high-speed delivery pizza.  Twenty-five years later, Stephenson’s list is as good a summary as any of the changes roiling America’s retail landscape. … Read more

Opinion: Back in Black

The retail market improves as year draws to a close, and Amazon, Target and Walmart continue to attract outsize share of consumer sales.