This content was published: September 25, 2008. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Surviving my time at the Willamette Week
Photos and story by Dana Haynes
I mentioned yesterday that I was meeting with the editorial board of Willamette Week on Wednesday and that they have a notoriously tough-minded ed board.
Sure enough, they didn’t disappoint. They ask the hard questions. They ask them again if dissatisfied with the answers they hear. They ask multiple follow-ups, making sure they get to the heart of issue. They challenge you.
There are no atheists in the Willamette Week’s conference room.
To make matters more stressful, they videotape the interviews and show them on their Web site. I didn’t know this. I was looking even more disheveled that usual by Wednesday afternoon. With my very, very pale Irish skin, harsh light and videotape always makes me look like I’m about three days dead. (What’s that song from Justin Timberlake? I’m bringing pasty back.) So that was a delightful surprise.
With a crew like Willamette Week, you literally tell yourself, “If my clothes don’t actually catch on fire, I’m going to call it a good meeting.”
Don’t get me wrong, Willy Week’s staff is always professional. It’s not like they were slapping me around or anything. They were just thorough.
How’d I do? Well, we’ll find out when the ink hits the newsprint, I suppose.
Send your feedback to dana.haynes@pcc.edu. And thanks in advance.
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »