Douglas McLennan

Doug is a longtime journalist who writes about journalism, the arts and technology. He's the editor and the founder and editor of ArtsJournal.com and co-founder and editor of Post Alley. He's a frequent keynoter on arts and digital issues, and works and consults for a number of arts and news organizations nationally.

Which Way Read?

So why do people read? To learn? To amuse? To fill in the cracks of boredom? Probably all of these.

Post Alley’s New “What We’re Reading” Blog

Every Monday afternoon Post Alley writers gather for a newsroom meeting. When the website first started, we'd meet in person, down at Peter Miller Books in Pioneer Square. But...

Seattle Symphony Update: A Cautionary Tale?

Whenever an organization is having problems ā€“ as this one clearly is ā€“ it's helpful as a reporter to step back to consider how a successful, well-run organization might respond in the situation.

Seattle Symphony Debacle: Inside the Sudden Departure of Thomas Dausgaard

Yes, music directors quit all the time, but virtually never in the middle of a season and, in the modern era, not effective immediately.

Some of Post Alley’s Top Stories of 2021

With 721 stories this year, Post Alley has explored local, national and international issues.

Risking Hanford (Like We Needed One More Thing to Worry About)

Itā€™s difficult to plumb the true depths of the hazards at Hanford. John Brodeur, an environmental engineer and geologist who worked at Hanford in the 1990s, wrote that the DOEā€™s leak-detection method is ā€œnot only flawed, but designed to avoid finding leaks.ā€

Ojai: A 75-Year Conversation About Where Music is Going

Many listeners have attended for decades and are deeply knowledgeable about what theyā€™re hearing. They donā€™t by any means expect to love everything; indeed, they can get as excited about the music they hate as about the performances they thrill over. The biggest crime in Ojai is not a misfire but a performance or piece of music that fails to provoke reaction.

Make Google Pay for the News? Surely Not This Way

Newspapers have seen their traditional ad-supported business models fray and fall apart, while Google, Insta, Facebook et al have grown fat and sassy. And news publishers look at Google & Co.ā€™s pots of money and cry ā€œfoul ā€“ youā€™ve stolen our ad dollars.ā€ Surely reparations are in order.

Siriusly, I’m Trying to Break Up with My Radio!

I call. And get a recorded message that the ā€œcall centerā€ is currently closed. Would I like to complete my request by text? No, but okay. The bot comes on and asks for my first name. I comply. Now it needs my last name so it can verify my account. Grrr. Okay.

Post-COVID: Reinventing Paris, Settling for a Same Seattle?

What is the big Paris-size vision for a new Seattle -- for a city that works better, spreads its wealth more equitably and is built to thrive during the challenges ahead? And more important -- where is the leadership -- people who aren't just selling themselves as mitigators, but who have a vision for the extraordinary region this can be?

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