Portland Mercury

Portland Mercury is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called The Stranger.[2]

For the defunct newspaper published in Salem and then Portland in the 19th and early 20th centuries, see The Mercury (defunct Oregon newspaper).
Portland Mercury
TypeAlternative bi-weekly
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Index Publishing
PublisherRob Thompson
EditorWm. Steven Humphrey
FoundedJune 2000
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters115 SW Ash St., Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204
USA
Circulation45,000 (as of June 2014)[1]
Websiteportlandmercury.com

Contributors and staff

Editor-In-Chief: Wm. Steven Humphrey
News Editor: Courtney Vaughn
Arts and Culture Editor: Suzette Smith
News Reporter: Taylor Griggs
President and Publisher: Rob Crocker

Current list retrieved on June 15, 2023.[3]

History

The current Portland Mercury launched in June 2000.[4] The paper describes their readership as "affluent urbanites in their 20s and 30s."[5] Its long-running rivalry with Willamette Week began before its first issue was even printed when Willamette Week publisher Richard Meeker asked a Portland law firm to pay $10 to register the Mercury name with Oregon's Corporation Division, thus preventing it from being used for 120 days.[6]

The newspaper's revenue is almost entirely dependent on advertising and sales of tickets for events and concerts with nearly 95% of its revenue coming from advertisements.[7][8]

Former managing editor Phil Busse's controversial tenure included charges of plagiarism, a favorable review for a restaurant that hadn't yet opened, a bid for mayor, and a cover featuring him wearing women's underwear, dollops of whipped cream, and a hard hat.[9] Shrill, a television series based on Seattle-based writer Lindy West’s memoir and essay collection of the same name, was inspired by The Stranger and Portland Mercury and starred actress Aidy Bryant.[10] The paper has also published articles and columns written by Chuck Palahniuk and Dan Savage.[11][12]

Portland Mercury's print edition was published weekly until fall 2018[13] when it changed to bi-weekly beginning with the issue released on September 13, 2018.[14] Its name as displayed on the nameplate was shortened to just Mercury as well.[13][15]

On March 14, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper temporarily suspended print publication and switched to online only.[16] In addition, it laid off 10 employees, which comprised half of the publication's staff.[17][18] A special newsstand edition, titled 'Say Nice Things About Portland: A Manifesto,' was released in May 2023. It was Portland Mercury's first print publication since the beginning of the pandemic.[19]

References
  1. "The Portland Mercury". Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  2. Meza, Claudia (March 17, 2020). "How Alternative Weeklies Are Weathering The Pandemic". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2020-04-27. the Mercury and its Seattle sister paper, The Stranger
  3. "Masthead". Portland Mercury. January 3, 2023. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  4. Humphrey, Wm. Steven (June 1, 2000). "The Triumphant Return of The Mercury". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on November 15, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. "Ad-info". Mercury readers are affluent urbanites in their 20s and 30s with impressive disposable incomes and an appetite for everything the city has to offer.
  6. Brenneman, Kristina (April 9, 2000). "No welcome mat for this Stranger". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  7. Meza, Claudia (March 17, 2020). "How Alternative Weeklies Are Weathering The Pandemic". www.opb.org. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  8. Mesh, Aaron (March 14, 2020). "Portland Mercury Halts Print Editions Amid Coronavirus Shutdowns". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  9. Butler, Grant (April 3, 2009). "White Bird hires controversial Phil Busse as general manager". Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  10. "Portland-filmed 'Shrill' renewed for Season 3 on Hulu". March 31, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  11. Palahniuk, Chuck. "Chuck Palahniuk Article Archive". Portland Mercury. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  12. Savage, Dan. "Dan Savage Article Archive". Portland Mercury. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  13. Gormley, Shannon (May 24, 2018). "Starting This Fall, The Portland Mercury Will Publish a Paper Every Other Week". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  14. Humphrey, Wm. Steven (September 12, 2018). "Good Morning, News: Merkley Spills the Tea, GOP in Serious November Trouble, and the New Biweekly Mercury". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  15. "Portland Mercury, News, Entertainment, Trouble". September 13, 2018. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  16. "The Mercury Is Temporarily Switching to Online Only". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  17. Davis, Rob (2020-03-14). "Portland Mercury temporarily cuts 10 staff, will publish online only". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  18. "Coronavirus woes causing cutbacks at Portland Mercury". Portland Tribune. March 14, 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  19. "Say Nice Things About Portland: A Manifesto". Portland Mercury. 2020-05-17. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
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