Tara Merrill
From The Columbian
www.columbian.com

Tara is a copy editor for The Columbian, a newspaper you've never heard of unless you live in the 'Couve. A self-described "magazine junkie," Tara's drug of choice is the periodical:

Portland Mercury: "Can I say that here? Really, when I need a pick-me-up, I grab the Merc. One Day at a Time and I, Anonymous are hilarious."

Giant Robot: "A magazine dedicated to Asian culture that anyone can relate to. Where else are you going to find out about the dog-eat-dog world of Hong Kong beauty queens?

Bust: "Bust is more about being an awesome, creative woman than finding the perfect shade of teal eyeliner."

Dirty Plotte, by Julie Doucet: "The best comic book ever. Doucet reveals even the grittiest parts of her life in an amazingly innocent way."

The One True b!X
communique.portland.or.us/
b!X knows more about news and journalists than anyone, so we asked him what he reads online to stay up to date and well-informed:

Talking Points Memo (www.talkingpointsmemo.com/): "Josh Marshall often combines the best of the weblog form with the best of traditional journalistic access, and when he latches onto a story he falls onto it full force."

KGW.com: "Of all local mainstream news sites, KGW's is far and away the best. For developments in big stories, they package together supplemental information and even original source material."

PressThink (www.pressthink.org/): "For those interested in serious thinking about journalism and so-called 'new media'--without the incestuous dotcom-like hype--Jay Rosen's site is a must-read."

MetaFilter (www.metafilter.com/): "Where inevitably I will find normal news stories I somehow managed to miss, as well as encounter things I never imagined I'd be interested in."