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Our Staff

Dana Haynes - Editor, Director of Editorial Content for Pamplin Media Group

Phone: 971-204-7735

“My wife, Katy, and I live in the heart of Portland and wouldn’t have it any other way. I started journalism in high school, then at Clackamas Community College and Lewis & Clark College, and my first job after graduation was with the West Linn Tidings. I’ve spent more than 25 years in Oregon newspaper newsrooms, dailies and weeklies, and I love what I do. This is such a great city, and it’s an honor to cover it in all its wholeness and complexity.”

Jules Rogers - Associate Editor, Portland Tribune; Editor, Business Tribune

Phone: 971-204-7868

“Local media outlets and local journalists are the backbone of national and international news, just as local businesses are the backbone of Oregon’s economy. While there are large media conglomerates in the country, the people of Oregon know how supporting local businesses can create a more thriving community.

A July 2020 Pew Research study found that most Americans believe local media are the most credible sources of information. Studies show that when communities have access to local information, the population is more involved in the civic process, facilitating the democratic process: the voice of the population, well informed of the news, is heard and shared.” Local news builds public confidence in the media — and in personal media literacy skills.”

Jason Vondersmith - Reporter

Phone: 971-204-7870

“In our roles as news gatherers, reporters and editors, we have a responsibility to be informative, fair and entertaining, while also being clear and concise with our stories. In Portland, it’s all about delivering news that readers want to read about, while also covering news that needs to be covered.

“We also want to be competitive against other news media outlets, and provide Portland Tribune and Pamplin Media Group readers with quality stories they can’t read elsewhere — or do a better job on stories covered by our competitors. “With the Tribune’s Metro Life section, it’s our goal to publish stories and photos that not only catch the eye, but keep the eyes of readers while making them think and feel. Through our website and newspaper pages, we strive to do a variety of stories from many different walks of life. Human interest stories, we call them. “Thank you for reading.”

Jim Redden - Reporter

Phone: 971-204-7863

“I am a community journalist because that is where the greatest need is. There are many sources of information and opinion about international and national issues. But most people are more affected by what happens in their local communities. That is where they live, work and shop. That is where their children go to school. That is where their elected officials, business owners and labor leaders are most accessible. And that is why people need the most current information what is happening — or, more importantly, what is going to happen — in their communities.

Providing accurate and up-to-date information that people need to make well-informed decisions on the issues they care about is what community journalism is all about.”

Joseph Gallivan - Reporter

Phone: 971-204-7874

“As a reporter, my job has changed a lot in the last five years, but telling readable, entertaining stories remains my goal. I believe:
1. Local news carries as much weight as national news.
2. News should be like a utility. We would complain if our drinking water was brown, our Wi-Fi was spotty, or our electricity kept going out. So, we need to know our news sources are legitimate and factual, rather than being a patchwork of friends’ opinions on social media.
3. In the pandemic, many have retreated behind their screens and front doors, so interviewing people face-to-face is more valuable than ever. Pamplin Media Group giv

Austin White - Sports Editor for Pamplin Media Group

Phone: 971-204-7247

“Nothing is more important to our daily lives than what is happening around us locally. In sports, the same rings true with high school sports at the core of so many communities not only in the Portland metro-area, but the whole country. Telling these stories and more are why I love to be a part of the community journalism we have here at PMG.”

Paul Danzer - Sports Reporter

Phone: 971-204-7873

"As a sports fan, working in sports journalism and telling the stories of athletes and teams from the school level to the elite/professional level is rewarding. Games are fun! So is meeting and introducing readers to driven, uniquely talented and often just plain fun humans. Sports bring together communities. Often, unexpected or unique connections are made through sports. To witness and to recount myriad dramas of human competition is a hoot.”

Jaime Valdez - Photo Editor

Phone: 503-204-7732

Jaime Valdez is a photographer covering news and sports in Washington, Columbia and Clackamas counties.

"Because of this job, I have grown as a person by learning what makes people unique. I like to make a connection with people to tell a story. Sometimes it is challenging, sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s sad, but I love it all."

Jon House - Photographer

Phone: 971-204-7746

“I strongly believe in the impact of visual storytelling to give the audience a better perspective on the local people and issues that shape our community.”

Geoff Pursinger - Digital Editor

Phone: 971-368-2365

Geoff Pursinger is digital editor for the Pamplin Media Group and currator of our weekly members-only email newsletters.

"I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but while novelists spend their time dreaming up scenarios and dialogue, I've always found the stories of real people to be just as interesting and inspiring as any work of fiction. Community journalism is a distillation of everything I love about reporting; it's about telling stories about our friends, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters. It's about holding a mirror up to ourselves, celebrating our beauties and exposing our faults. It's an honor to get to tell those stories."