As several readers correctly pointed out yesterday, the Mercury’s got a new byline. So I suppose I should introduce myself.

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My name is Sean Breslin. In 2003, I abandoned my dreams of being a rock legend in favor of a more stable career. But instead of staying near my New Jersey home and majoring in accounting, I moved out West to attend the University of Montana School of Journalism, a decision that would lead to more uncertainty than wondering whether CBGB would close before our next gig (we played two—there weren’t a lot of people). After dragging my feet through school, I finally graduated this past May and moved to Portland to start a news internship here at the Mercury.

Until now, all of my work has been for traditional daily news sources, whether editing the Montana Kaimin—the school newspaper at the University of Montana, or serving as an intern for the Missoulian in Missoula, or the Times-News in Twin Falls, Idaho. I’ve covered everything from university building plans to presidential stump speeches to a tragic house fire. I even covered Evel Knievel’s funeral for the Agence France-Presse. Matthew McConaughey was there.

I’m happy to have done all that, but it’s been pretty straightforward: this is what happened, here’s what he said and here’s how she rebutted. Furthermore, I don’t think many daily newspapers have been taking the chances they need to in order to survive, and I don’t want to get roped into bailing out the ship with a sippy cup… but it depends on what you’re paying.

I came to the Mercury because I wanted to do something a bit different. The Merc doesn’t cling to a façade of objectivity. Its online readership is huge and growing. It’s expanded its news coverage online, not carbon-copied the print edition onto the Web. And most importantly, it’s fun to read.

I hope my posts on Blogtown can spark some discussion. I know how rough the Internet can be, but I want to know what you think is important. Thanks for welcoming me. If you think there’s something that deserves attention, shoot me an email .

19 replies on “I’m Kind of a Big Deal (in Missoula)”

  2. What? Can’t the Merc give you an @portlandmercury.com email addy yet? Call the sysadmin and get some credentials.

    And welcome! Only time will tell if you fall into the troll-bait or trolling column. Both are fun, it’s like picking your alignment in D&D.

  3. THE TIMES NEWS!!! That was the first paper I worked for, I was in high school. Welcome Sean! Come upstairs to production and say hi sometime. I would come down to the news room but since that movie last week it has smelled of Blogtownie urine.

  12. I’m going to be in Missoula tomorrow (srsly). I will ask about you. If anybody describes your amount of deal as “insignificant” or “medium,” I’m telling the others.

  15. Missoula?

    Did you write this?

    “Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”

    No? You’re not such a big deal by Missoula standards. Good luck. You’re a better fit here.

  19. Welcome to the party. Don’t let any of the regulars give you any grief, and remember that you don’t _have_ to do everything Matt Davis wants you to do. That includes wearing the “Alice In Wonderland” outfit with the crotch ripped out. (If only someone had told _me_ that.)

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