Type | Alternative bi-weekly |
---|---|
Format | Tabloid |
Owner(s) | Index Publishing |
Publisher | Rob Thompson |
Editor | Wm. Steven Humphrey |
Founded | June 2000 |
Language | English |
Headquarters | 115 SW Ash St., Suite 600 Portland, OR 97204 USA |
Circulation | 45,000 (as of June 2014) [1] |
Website |
portlandmercury |
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]
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]
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]
the Mercury and its Seattle sister paper, The Stranger
Mercury readers are affluent urbanites in their 20s and 30s with impressive disposable incomes and an appetite for everything the city has to offer.