Hi all,

last week in the Oregonian, there was an article about this website -

For Portlanders Only

http://platypuscomix.cartoonsdammit.com/fpo/

With all sorts of quirky things about Portland - old commercials, old Fred Meyer ads, etc.

There's a section entitled "Unbelievable Scans from the Oregonian" and if you click on it, on that page is an entry - March 3, 1989 (hey, it was 27 years ago!)

There's a scan from the A&E section - all about the radio stations of 1989. The first link for it has the A&E cover, and then there's Page 2 and 3. You might have to resize it to read it.

I know I'm old but not that old! It's only 18 years ago.

Hoo boy!

I obviously can't count. Or add. Whatever I mean.

Thanks, Semoochie, for pointing that out.

Silly me.

BTW...the date on the paper is July 3 not March 3. I'm old and have bad eyes and I didn't even need to enlarge the pic to see it!

You're still younger than I am, Bill.

Not to sound nitpicky, but are you sure about that July date? the image I'm referring to does say March 3-9, 1989.

http://platypuscomix.cartoonsdammit.com/fpo/newspaper/3389radioreview1.JPG

Well, anyway, no matter the month...I wanted to ask the more well-seasoned folks (I am certainly not about to use the 'o' word - 'o' for old, that is) - what do you think of the article, was it a good representation of what was going on in PDX radio at the time, etc.

Your thoughts, please.

I found the Web site disconcerting, and a little sad. Is that really how tacky our town looked to someone who grew up here in the '80s? Admittedly, it was reeling under an unusually deep recession at the time (and I happened to be distracted, gleefully exploring Seattle then, just before things went bananas up there).

But what happened to the Rose City's hope and pride and promise of the sixties? Tek, the Hilton, Coliseum, OMSI/new Zoo (with Packy) and the Lloyd Center all raised our expectations of being known and regarded as modern by the nation, of becoming a place of significance, a career destination rather than a stop on the elevator; the Blazers put an end to our perennial confusion back East with some much smaller burg in Maine. But we still respected our heritage and the character, principles, and integrity of our people, and (most importantly) expected the same from one another.

(Yes, I'm conveniently overlooking the city and state's shady sides and not a few historical atrocities, but such were at least still unique, of a strictly local brand and flavor, and on an arguably smaller scale than elsewhere.)

While we sent Wayne Morse to defend the Constitution, our own mini-Churchill, "Daddy Warbucks" McCall, reminded us we were special and exhorted us to look toward and plan for a brighter future, which the rational and diligent Bob Straub and an idealistic, still-promising Goldschmidt actually tried to deliver to us.

While we were never conceited rubes with wild dreams, maybe we were just kidding ourselves... at least it seems to have turned out that way. I feel not unlike Keillor's grief-stricken Lake Woebegone character who in drunken despair lies down and cries on the graves of his ancestors. I was hoping for a little more than "microbrew capital of the world."

Jeffrey, interesting comments. We can't change history. Portland was what is was during this era. Seattle was in a different sphere in the early 90's. Why? No real answer to that, but there was a certain energy (not necesarilly more positive), that existed in Seattle during this period. The results of that energy still exist today. Seattle is bold, confident, and becoming an adult. Portland is still going through adolescense and perhaps will catch-up at some point. I'm not trying to say one city is better than the other, they just are in different stages of their evolution and BTW, Seattle had some pretty piss-poor tv promos and ads too!

Well, I wasn't here in Portland in the '80s, but I think tacky newspaper and TV ads exist pretty much everywhere - there were some beauts in Philadelphia too....and no, the website probably doesn't tell the whole story.

I liked the vintage radio ads too on this site.

Thanks, Paul. I had some poster's remorse, wondering if I'd just made another geezer rant (i.e., I'd hoped Portland would be noticed by the rest of the country, and now wish it hadn't).

While I like to remind people that "Portland is a generation older than Seattle," you may have a point about the current relative positions of our evolving self-identities; it appears Portland's maturation stalled during our traumatic economic and political transformation of the 80s/90s.

The loss of locally owned media has had a profound impact on how well we can see ourselves (note: the ad agencies went first, in the sixties, not to return for a couple decades); so unless I get out more to see our culture for myself, I've got blinders on.

I did feel Portland's radio was far more sophisticated than what I found in Seattle in the early '80s, but then I'm talking about the past again. (Confused and dismayed by the changes on our dial when I returned home in the late '80s, I largely stopped listening closely to radio.)

I miss the Journal, the old KGW, and the almost subversive sang-froid of KPTV. Since 12 has moved to Beaverton, I could return to denigrating KATU as "that East Side station"--but because it's still owned by Fisher, it's gained my respect by virtue of being the "last of the locals."

I'm a lifelong Portlander,but remember how it was in Seattle in the early 1970s after the Nixon administration cancelled the SST? There was that regional aphorism "Last one out of Seattle please turn out the lights" What a different world,eh?

Oh, yah, I remember, even though I was just a kid. Fortunately, the early 70's Seattle depression was short-lived, and most did not move away, unlike cities such as Detroit and Cleveland. Some have speculated that this near economic disaster in Seattle encouraged a new entrepreneurial spirit that evolved into new companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks. A blessing in disguise?

Yes, I arrived there in summer '79, as Seattle was just pulling out of that. It was like the city was stuck in 1968 (they were still making change on the buses!) Pioneer Square had just been renovated/restored, which was a puzzling but delightful discovery as I hiked uptown from Pier 36 to take a look around. The Kingdome had just been built, but aside from Rainier Tower (thoughtfully put on a pedestal to preserve light and sky above the city's core in the Metropolitan Tract), downtown hadn't changed much yet.

Over the next seven years the city revived, Microsoft hit big, the skyline changed completely (by 1986, one could look out the 35th floor windows at 3rd and Spring--into windows on all other three corners), and after I left I heard the growing pains became a severe agony.

So my time there was a charmed era (i.e., the city was reviving, but the World's Fair era was still visible), so my Seattle memories are probably rosier than most.

Boeing had bet the company (and probably the town) on the 747, and it carried them through. I'd say the demise of the SST was certainly a "blessing in disguise" in that the project got yanked before it became an even greater disaster (i.e., the thing was inherently doomed by its enormous fuel requirements).

In contrast, on a visit to my hometown in about 1981 I was appalled; I nearly expected to see tumbleweeds rolling about downtown. While Portland survived the demise of the lumber industry (in the '90s I simply couldn't believe we'd achieved a post-lumber economy, despite having hoped for it--it's mostly on the far West Side, beyond my regular view), its impact is still felt out there in the sticks where, but for the Interstate and retiree influx, they're back in 1940.

What was Portland up to when Seattle turned out the lights? Growing up in Portland in the early 60s I always thought Seattle was a better city. Better radio bigger area. Used to beg my parents to move us there. Thought Portland had nothing. Now 45 yrs later Portland looks great I feel the other way now. You really have had a lot of progressive people getting things done. The people in Seattle drag out plans for projects case in point, The Monorail and Alaskan Way Viaduct Enough already. I think radio there as well as everywhere has gone down.

What is truely interesting about the Seattle vs. Portland debate is that these are two of the youngest major cities in the U.S. (Only Las Vegas and Phoenix have less history) There is so much history to play out. And regardless of where you are from, you have to admit that both cities have their individual qualities and advantages.

However, in 2007 the differences seem to be more pronounced than ever. Seattle is an economic hub, more intense, and probably has more of an "attitude". Portland is more livable, has a better people-oriented downtown, and is light years ahead of Seattle with transit. I've said this before, but Seattle is a big small town, and Portland is a small big town. As for media, the pure size difference gives Seattle certain advantages, especially in TV, but I've always thought Portland radio sounded better overall.
Final thought: Should have bought that $70,000 house in Seattle in 1982. Would be sitting on a half mill today! Hindsight!

"Is that really how tacky our town looked to someone who grew up here in the '80s?" Having my tenth birthday smack dab in the middle of 1980, I can say, without reserve: Yes.

However, this was also a beautiful little berg where a kid with a little imagination could have a really good time. I grew up on Mount Tabor. I remember one summer seeing the bicycle races in the park when KB101 "Rock Deluxe" was doing a remote. Being a radio geek, I wandered over to the van.

Two fellows were working; one was young and the other was older. They were busy, so my brother and I said hello, asked a few questions and left them alone. In a friendly way, they shooed us off and told us to come back later when they gave away tee-shirts. With the 1:1 ratio of bikinis to trees, I understand now exactly why they were putting that giveaway off as long as possible. We stood nearby and watched them work.

Damn the music was loud, but I still remember overhearing bits of their conversation between breaks. It was gruff and funny and I learned a lot that day. The crowd was rowdy and pretty intoxicated, but not out of hand, at least, not until tee-shirt time. They jostled, shoved and in the end, the shirts stretched over the chests of the ladies and the leering died down.

I wandered back over to the guys while they started to pack up, asked about the shirts and repeated that someday I wanted to be in radio. The younger fellow was nice, handed me some stickers and went back to packing gear. The older guy turned to me, told me that they were out of shirts, and added something like, "sorry kid, but that's the first thing you gotta learn about radio -- sometimes, it's just a big fuckin' disappointment."