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Ryan Haas

@ryanjhaas.bsky.social
7.2K followers 1.6K following 1.5K posts

Oregon-based investigative journalist. | Co-founder thewesternedge.media Former OPB. Podcast producer, Bundyville, Dying for a Fight, and Hush. www.ryanhaas.net Tell me secrets on Signal: ryanjhaas.01

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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 19h
Most journalism organizations are buying into this as the future by the way. They are all in on short form, low calorie content because it's easier to make, costs less and doesn't make anyone with power mad. This is why McClatchy laid off reporters to hire content creators etc.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 19h
For a long time, there has been the incorrect belief, in my opinion, that putting biases out front is somehow a cure all for journalism. All I see is favor trading and powerful people speaking to content creators who won't actually question them.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 19h
This is the core of the article. People without journalism training pretending to ask "difficult questions" even though they admit they are entirely in the tank for one side. I don't think there is an easy fix to this because most people simply don't want journalism as it used to be.
A screenshot of an OPB article in which an influencer states he wants to support Gov. Tina Kotek's re-election campaign.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 19h
Really fascinating story from @laurendake.bsky.social. It's not that surprising to me that politicians are turning to influencers for political messaging, but it's a pretty grim statement about the modern media environment if you ask me.
opb.org
Facing tight race, Gov. Tina Kotek taps friendly influencers to spread message
The Democratic governor has granted in-person interviews to a cast of social media users this year.
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Marc Poris @marcporis.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
PPB does not follow Directive 1010.10 section 9.8, which states that: "The identity of Bureau member(s) involved in the incident shall be released within twenty-four hours, absent a credible security threat." www.opb.org/article/2026...
opb.org
Police identify man officers shot and killed in Southeast Portland
Law enforcement officers accidentally shot a Portland police K-9 during last week’s incident.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
That's awesome! I mean, I really don't mind paying some fees because that's the law. I just don't get public servants who feel like obstacles to records is their job. Gaia bless agencies like MultCo who approach records with nothing to hide.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I would say yes, but the goal likely isn’t additional fees. It's to simply get the requester to abandon the request. I have had sources tell me about records clerks intentionally tacking on fees to get the media to walk away. Worst case, you end up paying thousands and it is painful for you.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Presumably into that agency's operational budget. Under the law, they are technically only supposed to charge for "actual costs"...so the money should be used to cover the reviewing employees' paychecks for that time
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Which, I should say, is rarely needed. If you can read at a high school level, you should be able to determine if a record needs redaction or not. In rare cases like medical or attorney client privilege, it could be more complicated, but police records are almost never that
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Great question. Generally, yes. Records agencies under Oregon law have a right to assess fees for "actual costs" to produce the records. Because some exemptions do exist, bad actor agencies will frequently claim high dollar employees or lawyers need to review the records before production
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James Croxton @jwcroxton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's surreal having an article in The Intercept about our little six-year-old outlet @doublesidedmedia.bsky.social in #EugeneOR but this is what happens when the cops decide to play games.
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“It also sets the precedent for using this chilling tactic on any journalist or watchdog as it sees fit.“ Oregon cities are doing this over and over again, making it prohibitive for any independent journalist without a team of lawyers to get public records. It’s outrageous.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
And here I thought our $4000 was ridiculous! Oregon records law needs more guardrails to prevent public officials who are simply bad actors.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I take it as a matter of pride that our basic records requests are met with such incredible cowardice.
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Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Bills to provide government support through tax breaks and funding should be DESIGNED TO HELP SMALL NEWS OUTLETS EXPAND, not just keep legacy media alive. None of us can coast on monopoly power and inertia the way the Times can. We all deserve a chance to grow and expand our success.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Me, a dumpster person, getting a public records request back that has a ton of department heads frantically emailing "FYI" to each other.
static.klipy.com
Opossum Rubbing Hands
ALT: Opossum Rubbing Hands
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Boise State Public Radio @boisestatepublicradio.org · 21/09/2026
A proposed four million square foot data center and natural gas power plant could be built on public land just southeast of Boise, earning push back from a prominent environmental advocacy group.
boisestatepublicradio.org
4 million square foot data center proposed on public land near Boise
A proposed four million square foot data center and natural gas power plant could be built on public land just southeast of Boise, earning push back from a prominent environmental advocacy group.
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Alex Baumhardt @alexbaumhardt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Met with 36 journalists in NYC this week to talk about climate change and economic trends and as depressing as that reality is, what takes the cake was learning that McClatchy, right after recent mass layoffs at the Miami Herald, posted positions for influencers at pay exceeding most reporters.
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Maxine Bernstein @maxbernstein.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Testimony revealed ICE agents randomly ran license plates of cars in Walmart & McDonald's lots in Medford this summer, looking to detain people. Judge says he’s ‘deeply concerned’ about inaccuracies in ICE reports & post-arrest justifications for stops. www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...
oregonlive.com
ICE ‘dragnet’ violates court order against warrantless arrests, immigration lawyers say
Federal judge cites "deep concerns" about inaccuracies in ICE documents, and post-arrest justifications for stops.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Could have been a rickroll I suppose.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The state of transparency in Oregon.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I think journalists find the work boring and rote, which I understand...but I do think there is plenty to be learned. I figure if people can watch unboxing videos, then there is a place for journalism education!
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
We at @thewesternedge.bsky.social are all about transparency. Unfortunately, a lot of journalists are opaque about their process and methods. So, I'm experimenting with what it might look like to take the audience inside a story as it's being worked on. Let us know what you'd like to see more of!
thewesternedge.media
Journalism Live: Election Security and Mail-In Voting
A look inside an upcoming story from The Western Edge.
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John Ryan @heyjohnryan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
INBOX/Friday 4:56p.m.PT news dump: US DOE issues its 4th 'emergency' order that the TransAlta coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Wash., stay open another 90 days. Order comes same day a federal court found DOE's similar coal mandate in Michigan illegal, b/c there's no emergency.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'm on the feet beat now.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The state of media is what happens when wealthy and detached owners and CEOs are calling the shots. There's never a bottom too deep or a journalist who is irreplaceable. Those institutions simply need to die and be replaced with healthier media outlets.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Life is full of nuance and it takes experienced journalists to tease that out with reporting. Interrogating power isn't a clip for YouTube/IG/TikTok to sell ads against. Legacy institutions want to pivot to video again now bc it's cheap to hire 20yo producers and it's inoffensive to advertisers.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There isn't much to say about the McClatchy layoffs that hasn't already been said. But I will add that this is why I remain suspicious of all the news organizations pushing to vertical videos and "bite-sized" content and blah blah. Owners of legacy media aren't all that interested in journalism.
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
There are options when it comes to saving local journalism. For example, AB 2222 is waiting for Newsom's signature in California. I really hope Northwest states follow the lead of Rebuild Local News. Something like this would be a game changer: www.rebuildlocalnews.org/explainer-ca...
rebuildlocalnews.org
Explainer: California’s Community NEWS Act (AB 2222)
An overview of California’s proposed local journalist employment credit for newsrooms, explaining how the program works, who qualifies, and the safeguards designed to prevent misuse.
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Nik Streng @nikstreng.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
No newspaper in history has ever run layoffs as an effort to focus on local community journalism. It’s 100% a lie. They always want to do LESS community journalism to focus on things that get views
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Wow, bipartisan support that the Fourth Amendment should still matter. I didn't think I could be shocked anymore.
oregonlive.com
2 Oregon lawmakers move to outlaw Flock cameras statewide
The proposal would remove more than 500 AI-powered license plate readers across Oregon amid growing resistance.
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demi 🪄 @deminlawrence.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
You’ve just gotta laugh: Portland Metro Chamber, weirdly under their former name Portland Business Alliance, got awarded one of Portland Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work.” A reminder that Portland taxpayers pay PMC executive salaries, and that PMC gave the PBJ’s publisher an award last year.
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Jim Brunner @jimbrunner.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A classic of newspaper life: the WSJ editorial board pooh poohs the recent expose (by its own reporters) on Sen. John Fetterman. www.wsj.com/opinion/demo...
wsj.com
Opinion | Democrats Want Fetterman ‘on a Pike’
His support for Israel is the reason he’s now under attack from anonymous staff and Senate leaks.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
It's Labor Day. I recently checked in with an active labor movement in North Carolina that was partially inspired to a hunger strike protest due to deaths inside Amazon facilities like the one that took place this year in Oregon.
thewesternedge.media
40 Days, No Food: The Amazon Worker Starving Himself to Protest the Company
As Labor Day approaches, The Western Edge spoke to one labor activist on an extended hunger strike to highlight deaths inside Amazon facilities.
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Maxine Bernstein @maxbernstein.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Two ex-Portland police leaders found to have violated police policy deride 2020 protest inquiry as a charade @oregonian.com www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...
oregonlive.com
Two ex-Portland police leaders found to have violated police policy deride 2020 protest inquiry as a charade
Chris Davis, a former deputy chief, and former Capt. Anthony Passadore flew in from out of state to call the city's four-year-long investigation biased, incomplete and designed to shield higher offici...
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Maxine Bernstein @maxbernstein.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Portland police ex-deputy chief, captain to challenge findings they violated policies during 2020 protests @oregonian.com www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/0...
oregonlive.com
Portland police ex-deputy chief, captain to challenge findings they violated policies during 2020 protests
Former Deputy Chief Chris Davis and retired Capt. Tony Passadore will appear Friday to challenge findings related to their management of officers' force and force reporting failures during the mass p...
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
After @ryanjhaas.bsky.social reported on the death of Amazon worker James Wetmore at PDX9, warehouse workers nationwide took notice, including Italo Medelius. He's been on a hunger strike for 39 days in protest of deaths at Amazon: www.thewesternedge.media/p/40-days-no...
thewesternedge.media
40 Days, No Food: The Amazon Worker Starving Himself to Protest the Company
As Labor Day approaches, The Western Edge spoke to one labor activist on an extended hunger strike to highlight deaths inside Amazon facilities.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This week will mark the end of a 40-day hunger strike by an Amazon worker who says the company's policies have contributed to deaths. He was inspired to take up the protest in part after @thewesternedge.bsky.social reported on a death at a Troutdale facility.
open.substack.com
40 Days, No Food: The Amazon Worker Starving Himself to Protest the Company
As Labor Day approaches, The Western Edge spoke to one labor activist on an extended hunger strike to highlight deaths inside Amazon facilities.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Haha, I cannot imagine dealing with that
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Leah Sottile @leahsottile.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
In progressive Oregon, DEI efforts within the Parks system struggled years BEFORE Trump was re-elected. The first two DEI directors were fired, and a report about barriers to access was buried. A new @thewesternedge.bsky.social investigation, out now. www.thewesternedge.media/p/dei-at-ore...
thewesternedge.media
DEI at Oregon Parks is Lost in the Woods
In progressive Oregon, the Parks department has wrung its hands for years over inclusion
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Parks leaders in Oregon talk a big game about wanting to make the state's beautiful parks more accessible to new people, but those goals often stop at words. A new story from The Western Edge today.
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Shane Burley (Blue Sky Edition) @shaneburley.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This reinstatement happened for one reason: a union contract. She was brought back against managements wishes because she won the highest level of the grievance procedure, arbitration. This is how you can take the power back from people like Jeff Bezos: form a union.
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Terrible day for spiders. (Actually cleaned my garage for once)
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Jerad Walker @jeradwalker.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
American airports are my top source for life science education.
A random sign at my gate at RDU in Raleigh, NC:

The State Marsupial of North Carolina
North American Opossum
Didelphis virginianaAn exhibit of taxidermied animals at PWN in Portland, Maine featuring a moose and black bears
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Strong!
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
@thewesternedge.bsky.social has some really good stories in the pipeline. In the meantime, we decided to offer a look at where we are as a company so far and a recap on a few stories you might have missed this summer.
thewesternedge.media
The State of the Edge
A status report: lessons learned after six months of business.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 21/08/2026
Alaska vowed to resolve the murders of Indigenous people. But when one nonprofit asked state law enforcement officials for a fundamental piece of data — a list of Indigenous murders they’d investigated — the state said no. (Published Aug. 2025 with @adn.com)
propublica.org
Alaska Vowed to Resolve Murders of Indigenous People. Now It Refuses to Provide Their Names.
When the nonprofit Data for Indigenous Justice filed public records requests with the Alaska Department of Public Safety concerning cases it had investigated, the state rejected them.
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Alex Zielinski @alexzee.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
In San Antonio, councilors just voted down a proposal to ask the public to vote on whether to spend nearly $500m on an new NBA arena. A lot of similarities (to Portland's Moda debate) in the discourse: "Completing this arena is widely viewed as a necessity to keep the Spurs in San Antonio."
nytimes.com
San Antonio City Council rejects mayor’s motion for re-vote on Spurs arena deal
The Spurs’ new arena deal cleared its latest hurdle Monday, when the city council denied a motion to reopen the funding to a public vote.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
January 6 was only 5 and a half years ago, and we’ve already cycled through investigation, indictment, conviction, pardon, and now gleeful promises to do it again only with actual hanging rather than just chants about it. Nice job GOP.
Enrique Tarrio O
@NobleOne
X.com
They're still doing it because we didn't hang them
last time.
3:18 PM • 8/15/26 • 11K Views
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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Update: radical leftists means thinking billionaires should pay more and that Gaza is a travesty.
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