The Media Loves Portland -- But Why?

"For local media nerds, the national love is all very entertaining. (If nothing else, it provides a break from our homegrown sensations: the ConAgra Pot Pie Recall Crisis, the Interstate/César Chávez Crisis, the Snowflake the Deer Crisis, TV news’ daily A Methhead Ate My Baby Crisis.)"

"But, seriously, what’s up? Why is Portland—Lord strike us down for saying it—'hot'?"

"Portland is, in fact, a beautiful city full of interesting people doing noteworthy things. But since when did truth have anything to do with media herd behavior? We suspect that the current fixation on our demure little city has more to do with reverse provincialism. For the most part, the national media are sequestered in one city obsessed with work (New York) and another obsessed with appearances (Los Angeles). Both are obsessed with money. From those vantages, Portland’s relative relaxation seems exotic. And civilized life west of the Hudson and north of San Francisco? Always fascinating."