Skip to main content
The University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication is holding a conference this weekend in Portland called "What is Journalism?" looking at the future of the newspaper industry.
This morning, the audience included a very unusual attendee: former Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes.
Hayes sat in the back of a room for a morning panel discussion on citizen journalism.
Hayes, the fiancée of ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber, is at the center of a federal influence-peddling and conflict-of-interest investigation. Kitzhaber resigned in February after intense media scrutiny of Hayes' actions and how he may have benefitted from her work as a private consultant while serving as first lady and as an advisor on his staff.
WW asked Hayes why she was at the conference. Hayes replied: "To listen and to learn."
In recent weeks, Hayes has emerged from public silence in the wake of Kitzhaber's resignation. She posted on Facebook last month in solidarity with Monica Lewinsky, writing that "our click-for-cash business model has turned public humiliation into a commodity and shame into an industry."
WWeek 2015