An announcement regarding the future of The I-5 Corridor

We're sticking around, but our Ducks coverage is headed to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

EUGENE — Let’s do this thing like a Band-Aid, or else I might sit here looking at this blank page forever:

Today is the last day my Oregon Ducks coverage will be appearing on The I-5 Corridor.

If I were still in the business of deciding where to put the paywall, that’d be a pretty good place to drop it.

But I’m not in that business anymore.

Surprised?

Yeah, me, too.

First, here’s what’s happening. Then we’ll get to the why and what it means for you.

I have officially joined Lookout Eugene-Springfield as the publication’s new Ducks correspondent. Riding the momentum of its 2024 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, Lookout expanded from Santa Cruz to Eugene-Springfield back in April.

In just four months, they’ve moved into a downtown Eugene office, built the state’s largest newsroom outside of Portland and attracted members who value thoughtful community journalism. Lookout is already doing fabulous work in Lane County — the kind of work that, if I ever returned to a newsroom, I’d want to be part of.

The problem? They weren’t yet doing sports.

Two days after I got back from Big Ten Media Days, that started to change.

My new bosses knew a Eugene-focused publication couldn’t have a hole the size of the UO athletic department in its pages. They had always planned to do Ducks, just needed the right person. So, after a handful of calls, in-person meetings, a Zoom with founder Ken Doctor, and a lot of questions asked, I became convinced they didn’t just want to cover Oregon — they wanted to cover the Ducks right.

What’s that mean?

It means coverage a lot like you’ve read here since 2021 — thoughtful, unique stories that stick with you. I’ve never been the guy for complete transcripts of Dan Lanning pressers, or a two-sentence post when a recruit narrows his list from 16 to 12. I’ve tried to be the guy who tells the stories you might not have heard, who puts modern-day Oregon into context, and who always asks: is this worth my subscribers’ time?

That’s led to the best work of my career.

It’s also been a challenge — one that’s often felt like competing on the state’s most-read beat with an arm tied behind my back.

I worked 20 hours a week my first two years writing newsletters for a Los Angeles-based company to support The Corridor while building the subscriber list from scratch. When that job disappeared in December 2022, I doubled down and watched this thing take off — not just in paid subs, but in reach, with my soccer coverage becoming a key part of The Corridor’s growth.

I’m proud of what I’ve built: something unique, positive and different. I hope my love for covering sports in this state came through in every story.

But running an independent site is exhausting. It’s hard if you’re prepared and have a business background. It’s even harder if you create your site on impulse, and instead of taking business classes back at Montana, you took stop motion animation and acting for non-majors to round out the degree.

I’m grateful to more people than I can name¹ — for story edits, advice, promotion, couches to crash on, merchandise bought, subscriptions gifted, credentials approved and Traffic Report episodes co-hosted.

It’s my site, but I couldn’t have done it alone. And with Lookout, I’m finally getting that other arm free. We’ll travel. We’ll cover all UO sports, not just football. We’ll have copy editors. We’ll cover this university at a time when Ducks appetite has never been higher — the way it deserves to be covered.

Now, to the questions:

What happens to my subscription?

If you have a Corridor subscription, you will become a member of Lookout Eugene-Springfield. If your renewal is coming up in August or September, your membership will be extended through Oct. 1 to give you a chance to get used to reading me there, before your renewal comes due.

Lookout will have my coverage, plus their full news package at LookoutEugene-Springfield.com. If all you are interested in is Ducks and not local news? There will be that option too.

I’ve stopped taking all payments on The I-5 Corridor, so you won’t be charged again.

In the coming days, you’ll receive an email from Lookout Eugene-Springfield with instructions to activate your new account.

What does this mean for your Timbers coverage and The Traffic Report podcast?

Lookout has agreed to let me keep I-5Corridor.com alive for the Portland Timbers’ 2025 season. I’ve worked too hard at becoming a semi-competent soccer writer to quit now and I owe it to those of you who took a chance on me to finish out the year.

All my archives will migrate to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, so you can continue to access all my past work for Timbers — or any other topic — there.

The Corridor will also remain home to The Traffic Report with Justin Myers. We’ve built great momentum since December and I wasn’t ready to give up that slice of independence.

How do you feel?

I’ve run the gamut of emotions in the last two weeks. Today, I’m a little nervous and still slightly overwhelmed at how quickly this all happened. I haven’t had a boss in four years!

But mostly I’m feeling excited, grateful and a touch nostalgic. When I left The Athletic in 2021, there was a big part of me that felt that might’ve been my last day in sports writing. Few of my schoolmates are still in the business, and there are plenty of writers far more talented than I who have had to fight tooth and nail to keep careers that they’ve worked so hard for alive.

Shoutout to people such as Christian Caple, Justin Ferguson, Sean Highkin, John Canzano, Audrey Snyder and Bill Landis who continue to thrive in the independent world and are proving every day that there’s not just an appetite to read good stories, but a business demand for them.

I wish them all nothing but the best.

But for me?

Well, longtime readers have likely caught on that I use the term “we” here a lot. Maybe I thought it sounded more legitimate. Maybe I was a little shy about standing behind a product that was just me.

I think mostly, it’s that I never really stopped wanting to be part of a team. I’ve found one now, and I think you’re really going to enjoy what we’re going to do with this opportunity.

Thank you,

Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor

1. Here’s a very incomplete attempt:

Ali — I quit The Athletic with no backup plan. Two months later, my “plan” became starting a news publication. Not exactly how she would have drawn it up — she left newspapers a decade ago for good reason — but she’s believed in me every step. The Corridor would have ended long ago without her love, belief and financial support. I can’t wait to finally take a paid vacation together.

Mom and Dad — They’ve never questioned a career move — not even in 2007 when I picked a “dying” industry. They’ve only ever encouraged me to do what I love. I hope I keep making you proud.

Grandma and Grandpa — Grandpa never missed a story. We lost him in 2023 and it hurts knowing this will be my first stop without him as a Day 1 reader. He’d have loved this Mariners streak. Thankfully, I can still talk Ms with Grandma, who still mails me newspaper cutouts and Starbucks cards on birthdays.

Aidan Schneider, Shane Hoffmann, JJ Anderson, Darby Winter, Justin Myers — Aidan, thanks for giving me credibility as my first podcast partner. Shane, your Oregon stories were incredible and your suggestions got me through a lot of my own. JJ and Darby, your images didn’t just bring stories to life — they got people to subscribe. Justin, brother, I can’t wait to keep podcasting with you. Ginger ales all around.

Jeff Smith and Dan Itel — Mentors and friends who taught me there’s more to a story than wins, losses and clicks. Argus Trio forever.

U of O comms staff — You didn’t have to credential someone with zero subscribers. But you did.

Dan Lanning – I complain about some of the quotes, but I don’t think anything will ever beat “The rabbit has the gun.”

Bruce Barnum and Portland State — Nobody works harder in college football while keeping a sense of humor like Bruce. The man gave me story after story — and bought all those beers.

Portland Timbers, their staff and media corps — I worried I’d feel like an outsider in soccer. And I did — but never because of the Timbers or the folks around the press box. Thanks to Jill Farley, Paloma Alatorre, Collin Romer, Merritt Paulson, Alex Barnes, Jeremy Peterman, Billy Merck, Adam Susman, Diego Chara, Eric Miller, James Pantemis and Phil Neville for patiently answering my endless questions. Covering the club has been first-rate.

Eric Evans, Rob Moseley, Craig Mitchelldyer — When I didn’t have my own, your photos made the Corridor pop.

John Canzano — Every time I was ready to quit he told me to keep going. In a lonely independent world, that little bit of belief went a long way.

Derek Eley — A friend who’ll drop everything to help. Can’t wait to see you and Emily get married in October.

Elliot Njus and the High School Journalism Institute — Thanks for letting me be part of HSJI these last four years. It reminded me that my home is in a newsroom.

Bill Oram — Aside from what I said earlier in the Vikings section — Go Griz. And thanks for being my personal photographer at the Big Ten title game.

Corey Redding — I still think the Corridor logo you made is better than anything I wrote in four years. You nailed it. I’ve got a hat with your name on it.

Brian Tovey — Day 1 subscriber — and first sponsor. Thanks for being there from the start. Joe No!

Andrew Greif — A North Star. You taught me the Ducks beat and how to be a pro. Let’s work on those 400 times.

Lindsay Schnell — Thank you for all your support, and for pointing me in JJ’s direction.

Kevin Palmer — Best Masters correspondent the Corridor ever had — and the guy who kept me playing hockey at a discount.

Sam McDonald — Sorry I forgot to turn on the mic in our 2024 Timbers concessions video. Hope the 2025 Cider samples made up for it.

Jake Trenholm — Thanks for leaving. Feel free to come back.

Taylor W. Anderson — Built for the West. Glad you came home. Go make Building Salt Lake a monster.

Brian Koch — Your beer delivery service was key during the pandemic, but I value our life talks even more. Go Birds.

Justin Ferguson — The Auburn Observer started all of this. Hope to see you in Vegas for hoops.

Jordan Nagelkirk — I told you I’d post this on my site at some point. Thanks for the best rates in town.

A.J. Mazzolini — I’ve never been happier to see a dateline in a story than the time you filed from Toronto.

Christian Caple — Can you believe The Athletic bailed on the best Huskies writer right before their biggest season in decades? Whoops. On Montlake is a roaring success. Congrats.

Dann Miller and Ken Doctor — Thanks for believing in me and giving my writing a home. Let’s build something special together.

The subscribers — Some sportswriters get jaded. They’ll tell you it’s not as cool as it sounds. And yes, it’s a tough business. But a little over a month from now, I’ll be in Happy Valley watching the Ducks and Penn State in a whiteout in one of the biggest games of the year — and I’ll get paid to write about it.

I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have an audience that reads it.

– i5 –