‘The Ship Report’ celebrates nearly two decades on air
Rideout introduces locals,
visitors to maritime activity
BY ANDY CAMERON
On a dreary February day in the early
2000s, a chance interaction sparked a cul-
tural phenomenon that is now as iconic to
the Columbia-Pacific as the column on
Coxcomb Hill.
In the parking lot of the Astoria-War-
renton Area Chamber of Commerce, vaca-
tioning Joanne Rideout, an Arizonan with
coastal roots, struck up a conversation with
a man tending the organization’s plants.
After asking the man why he enjoyed
living in the town, Rideout received a brief
but fortuitous answer: “I’m here for the
ships.” Though she kept her eyes peeled for
river traffic, Rideout left Astoria without
spying any of the now ubiquitous Columbia
River ships. She did, however, depart with a
realization that the desert sun had depleted
the once bountiful salt in her veins.
A few years later, while seated at the
control desk of KMUN, Rideout gazed
through the picture window and finally laid
eyes upon the steel hulls plying the river’s
currents. Now working for the station and
residing in Astoria, she grew curious about
the passing ships.
A local Columbia River bar pilot was
then hosting a classical music program and
grew to be a trusted source of answers for
Rideout’s growing maritime curiosity. “I
asked him a lot of questions,” she said. “I
found out that people didn’t know much
about the river. I tried a radio segment on
ships, but I wasn’t sure that people would
like it.”
Her uncertainty was soon quelled. Lis-
teners embraced the new source of infor-
mation and Rideout’s show, “The Ship
Report,” soon became a regular fixture in
the lives of North Coast residents. Now
marking nearly 20 years on the air, the
show has provided Astoria residents and
visitors with a connection to a mysterious
and engaging world ripe with intrigue.
ABOVE: Radio host Joanne Rideout poses for
a portrait beside a plaque.
LEFT: A ship is surrounded by a flock of birds
as it drifts along the Columbia.
Photos by Andy Cameron
The Ship Report
Hosted by Joanne Rideout
On air from 8:48 to 8:58 a.m. on Mondays
through Fridays on KMUN/KTCB
www.kmun.org
See Page 7
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