The Eugene Weekly wrote about the events leading to the embezzlement from them of over $100k and unpaid bills of over $200k and the near death of the paper before the community saved it.
Absolutely wild story that sounds like the plot to an A24 film.
I got the call on Dec. 13, 2023, as I zoomed south on I-5, bleary and stressed after a late-night flight from Florida. I’d flown into Seattl
In an age of both corporate and independent news rooms shuttering even without large scale theft, it's both a devastating turn of events, and a triumph to see them claw their way back from oblivion because the community they served refused to let them die.
There are only two other newspapers in Eugene:
The Daily Emerald: Student paper from their school of journalism. Excellent quality and have broken important local stories, but also rookies still learning the trade and no long term work.
The Register Guard: Formerly a local paper now owned by Gannett. Absolute dogshit. Next to no local news anymore. What newsroom remains is so stifled in what they can write that you're better off following them all on Twitter for the real news. Killed letters to the editor, endorsements, and even most local election coverage for being too political. Incredibly abusive to their employees at all levels. Hemorrhaging subscriptions due to quality.
And then there's the Eugene Weekly who's very open about their leftist slant and also holds truth to power. Tireless voice of the people from investigative journalism, to a local events calendar and reviews, to the reader-driven Best of Eugene contest rating everything from restaurants to drag queens to activists.
Folks here looked into the void that would be left without them and could not let that future pass. So poor to rich, individuals to business (some trying to crowdfund their own struggles to survive at the same time), all came together to say we value this enough to pitch in. We need this part of our social fabric to stay together. We don't want to be left in the dark. And it worked. Beyond all likelihood or hope. One torch in the dark against ignorance and misinformation relit.
I hope The Bookkeeper gets help. This is such a tragic way to bring ruin to your life. Addiction is so hard to break but there are people in the area doing their best to treat people, and I hope that ultimately this is a turning point in her life. Clearly things got out of hand.
