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In April 18, owners of The Houston Post shut its doors after 111 years, putting me and my wife of five months out of reporting jobs. It was the first time either of us had ridden one of these dinosaurs into the ground. And, God willing, the last.
We pressed our clothes and mailed resumes as the rest of the world covered the Oklahoma City bombing. We suffered multiple job rejections, general economic hardship and an ego-boosting trip to the unemployment office.
But something far more ominous happened. Editors assured us they were in a buyer's market. The few able to hire were being extremely selective. Most seemed almost eager to prophesy continued closings, layoffs and newsroom cutbacks.
In the midst of these ever-more-grim forecasts, I found one newspaper upsizing. Editors of The Oregonian were attempting to turn the Portland daily into the nation's best regional paper. They had spent the better part of two years adding nearly 30 new faces to the staff, dividing them up into reporting teams, and taking after news like hounds after the pot roast.
Editor Sandra M. Rowe, who came...