Oregon journalist Floyd McKay ‘57’ had a front-row seat for one of the most critical periods in Oregon’s history.
Now, McKay is telling that story in a new book, “Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State.”
McKay will present a reading on Wednesday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room at Nicholson Library at Linfield.
McKay’s book covers the period from 1964 to 1986, often referred to as The Oregon Story because it was a time of great change. From clean rivers and open beaches to mass transit and the Columbia Gorge, those two decades shaped the future of Oregon. As a reporter at the Oregon Statesman (now the Statesman Journal) in Salem and a news analyst at KGW-TV for 17 years in Portland, McKay knew all the major players and rising newcomers that defined this era.
His book describes and analyzes the time, linking the state’s leadership with an emerging corps of activists, many of them women who were on the cusp of taking leadership roles in Oregon politics. It also discusses changes in the Oregon media and is the first to link the environmental gains of the time with the emergence of a Portland renaissance that included MAX, Pioneer Square and the demise of urban freeways.
“More important is my goal of alerting young readers and new Oregonians to what can be done working together for goals that protect and improve Oregon’s quality of life and the earth’s sustainability,” McKay said.
As a student, McKay studied journalism, which was a very small Linfield department in the 1950s.
“Linfield’s greatest strength has always been its liberal arts focus and the ability of students to connect with professors in all fields,” said McKay. “My career never called into play the Shakespeare class from Dr. Horace Terrell or the Ethics and Life of Jesus classes with Dr. James Pollard, but the values and thinking of both men influenced me in many ways.”
McKay left full-time journalism in 1986 and spent two years as an assistant to Gov. Neil Goldschmidt. From 1990 to 2004 he taught journalism at Western Washington University, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington along the way, specializing in media history, later writing two books and many academic journal articles on that topic.
His vast background in journalism and history equip McKay to transcribe The Oregon Story and connect it to modern day, according to Bill Lunch, Oregon political scientist and regular commentator for OPB.
“Floyd McKay has burnished his reputation as one of the most thoughtful and insightful observers (while a participant himself) in the era of historic change in the Northwest and the nation, the significance of which we are only now beginning to fully appreciate,” Lunch said.
By Natalie Kelley ’18
