Sad news: Oregon Media Insiders blog calling it quits [Updated]

I just heard that Oregon Media Insiders—arguably the de facto resource for all things mainstream media related in Portland—is no more. Writer Lynn Siprelle has decided to hang up the pen after the site led to the destruction of a friendship.

A post entitled “I’m done” outlines Lynn’s reasons behind the shutdown.

I lost a friend today over this site–a good friend, one of my best friends. Losing friends was always a risk of doing this site, and in a way I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. I don’t think I can get this friend back; I’ve been told not to respond to the email, though I’m going to try anyway.

I, for one, am saddened for both Lynn and the loss to the blogging community. OMI was a great resource, even with moments of being a local Valleywag. At times, it was contentious to the point of being inflammatory, but always on target. And usually providing an outlet for some much needed snark

Long story short, OMI has been the go-to resource for the pulse of the media scene around here. It takes all kinds—point and counterpoint—and it will be sorely missed.

Love it or hate it. OMI was a voice. And an important voice at that.

Lynn has offered to let someone else pick up the site if anyone is interested in carrying the torch—but those are awfully big shoes to fill. For more, you can follow Lynn on Twitter.

(Hat tip Todd Kenefsky)

[UPDATE]

Blogtown PDX chatted with Lynn and posted some insight into why she’s shuttering OMI. It’s got some interesting insights on the story—and the legalities of comments and trolls.

“I’m gonna let somebody run it who I guess has a bit of a thicker skin than I do,” Siprelle told the Mercury via phone interview this morning. “I’m depressed. This has been a big chunk of my life and I’ve met a lot of people, it’s hard to give up.” Siprelle got a “last straw” email this morning from an unnamed “friend” asking her “how I could do this to them, basically,” referencing a year-old comment on an OMI post.

The comment, apparently, said something unpleasant about Siprelle’s friend and they took it personally.

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Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy View all posts by Rick Turoczy