July 16, 2004
(Updated) And The Kingdom Crumbles Some More
FBI Investigating Goldschmidt?
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
We learned of it through a KGW breaking news alert. But it's once again all about Willamette Week, which is reporting an FBI probe into Neil Goldschmidt and SAIF:
SAIF, formerly known as the State Accident Insurance Fund, paid Goldschmidt's firm more than $1 million for consulting services between 1996 and 2003.
It is unclear when the FBI became interested in Goldschmidt and SAIF or exactly what the substance of its investigation is.
But WW has learned that an FBI agent visited the Government Standards and Practices Commission in Salem this week to review documents involving Goldschmidt's work for SAIF.
It seems that WW, for all its faults, continues to be the only local paper bothering to be plugged in enough to keep on top of the various possible problems with the career of Neil Goldschmidt.
As the paper reminds its readers, the Standards and Practices Commission "is investigating an ethics complaint against SAIF lodged last December by state Sen. Vicki Walker" who "alleged that SAIF had failed to properly account for its payments to Goldschmidt and others."
Update
At some point this evening KGW posted its own story on all of this, with comments (or lack thereof) from various parties.
Update
So today The Oregonian had their own story on this. Since it does not mention Willamette Week, as the KGW story did, we can't help but wonder if this particular development reached various news organizations independently of one another, or if The Oregonian is once again trying to pretend that Willamette Week does not exist and did not beat them to the punch.
Perhaps there's an insider out there who knows and would be willing to spill the beans as to which scenario is the accurate one?
Comments (13)
Jack Bog on 17 Jul 2004
The state commission is a joke. They have 1 investigator, literally, after the legislature gutted their budget. Even when they had a decent staff, they were always wimps. Expect nothing from that quarter.
If the Republican U.S. attorney wants to bust Neil's chops, though, that could be very interesting, and SAIF could be just the start.
I'd root for Ashcroft on that one...
toonprivate on 18 Jul 2004
The Oregonian would save its "news" for the Saturday edition instead of putting it on Oregon Live Friday, unlike KGW or WW, so it would have no reason to cite WW.
The One True b!X on 18 Jul 2004
I understand that. But if their "news" came from the WW coverage, they should cite it. My point was that it's unclear to me so far whether The O got the news independently of WW or got it because of them and once again "forgot" to mention it.
The One True b!X on 18 Jul 2004
I should also say that it shows the general web-cluelessness of The O. There are major news organizations, including newspapers, all over the country that put breaking or important new news on their websites overnight rather than make people wait until the next day's newspaper to learn about it. Arguably, that's actually becoming what one might deem "best practices" in the 21st century world of newspapers.
Suzii on 18 Jul 2004
The Oregonian doesn't have a website. Oregon Live is an unrelated company with an exclusive contract to put The O's content online.
And I'd guess 99% of The O's newsroom staff would exult with loud hosannas the day they were told that was changing.
The One True b!X on 18 Jul 2004
It's not an entirely unrelated company. They are both part of the Advance family of media companies.
Suzii on 18 Jul 2004
Like I said -- a contractual, business-level relationship. Journalists at The O have no influence on how Advance.net uses their work.
The One True b!X on 18 Jul 2004
Not to belabor this, because I know that you're quite right about the level of useful interaction (or lack thereof) between the two entities, but my only point was that it's disingenuous to say "unrelated company." With the paper being part of Advance Publications and the site being part of advance.net Advance Internet, they could in theory have any business relationship they wanted, if someone high up enough deemed it smart to do.
doretta on 19 Jul 2004
"Disingenuous" is not a fair characterization. By your own admission, Suzii accurately described the existing working relationship between the the two companies.
What's relevant to this discussion is the relationship they do have, not some relationship they could theoretically have but don't.
The O hands off their print content to OregonLive.
If the O is "web-clueless" it's reflected by the fact they don't have a real newspaper website--not by how things are done at OregonLive.
Understanding the difference might make people more effective at lobbying the O for a real newspaper website.
The One True b!X on 19 Jul 2004
Well, but understanding the relationship was my piint also. I was just trying to point out that "unrelated company" is not accurate when they are both part of the same thing. Read the "about us" page:
That was my only point. This is not "unrelated" companies. Advance Publications owns The O. Advance Publications owns OregonLive. Hence, making the interaction between them work is not some pipedream, but a matter of corporate intelligence and desire.
Worldwide Pablo on 19 Jul 2004
Folks: Talk to some Oregonian editors and reporters and see what they think the relationship is. You won't find anyone in the newsroom who thinks OregonLive is a "related" website.
The One True b!X on 19 Jul 2004
As I keep saying, I'm speaking in terms of ownership, not functionality. I'm aware of the fact that the people on the inside are as annoyed, if not moreso, with the lack of useful interaction between the paper and the website. My only point was that since both sides are owned by the same people, it's only a lack of will that prevents solving that problem.
Worldwide Pablo on 19 Jul 2004
Folks: Talk to some Oregonian editors and reporters and see what they think the relationship is. You won't find anyone in the newsroom who thinks OregonLive is a "related" website. "Hijacked" is more like it.