For example, I've been running a bunch of backups with pg_dump in directory mode with multiple jobs. When I come back several hours later there are no pg_dump processes running. The log is filled with:
dumping contents of foo
finished item 123456 of TABLE DATA bar
I agree that any log file that contains this level of detail regarding the operational detail can (IMO, should) also have an indication regarding the final outcome of the process.
The arguments about "the Unix way" seem to have forgotten the point about being silent except in cases of exception, and this level of detail already violates that premise.