Oregon newspapers in freefall

Newspaper publishers are calling the events of June 3 "Black Monday" – the day that dozens of local newspapers were sold or ceased print operations in Oregon.

The Pamplin Media Group announced that it was selling to the Carpenter Media Group out of Mississippi.

Robert Pamplin Sr. was once the CEO of Georgia Pacific lumber and left a fortune to his son, Robert Pamplin, Jr. The younger Pamplin created an empire in the newspaper industry, catering to Christian news and community newspapers. At one time in the 1990s, he was on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list.

Pamplin's publications – including the Portland Tribune, Beaverton Valley Times, Hillsboro Tribune, Gresham Outlook, Newberg Graphic, and the Madras Pioneer – employed more than 200 people and had over a million readers.

With the purchase of Pamplin, The Carpenter Media Group has 180 newspapers in its portfolio, most of which are local newspapers. Brent Walth, a University of Oregon professor in the School of Journalism, said that things could be worse. Pamplin did not sell to a hedge fund that was solely interested in gutting the company's assets. Walth told OPB that Carpenter Media has a good reputation in the industry and that it is invested in local news.

But the future of Pamplin's newspapers remains uncertain and there is concern that some newspapers will be closed permanently.

Last year, several of Pamplin's publications ceased print circulation and went to an all-online format.

But the Pamplin sale was nothing compared to the announcement by the EO Media Group that it was ceasing print operations for several legacy newspapers in Central and Eastern Oregon – and looking to sell or restructure the company.

The EO Media Group, a fourth-generation family-owned company, announced that it was terminating 28 jobs and that additional layoffs were likely.

Prior to this announcement, the EO Media Group was thought to be a stalwart of the industry – and one that could weather the storms of a newspaper industry that is highly volatile.

Legacy newspapers including John Day's Blue Mountain Eagle, The La Grande Observer, the Wallowa Chieftain, the Bend Bulletin, and The Baker City Herald will no longer be available in print, as of July 1st.

Instead, the papers will have an online platform and some stories will be printed in the East Oregonian newspaper – which will be reduced to printing once a week instead of three times weekly. That is, until the company is purchased or restructured entirely.

Kathryn Brown, the fourth-generation owner of the company, said that the soaring expenses of printing, mailing, and paying insurance costs for staff were responsible for the decision to sell or restructure.

Brown said that the company is exploring the change to a non-profit status to better manage costs.

In 2022, the EO Media Group sold its printing press to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, which is owned by the Seattle Times. That year, the EO Media Group also spent $3.9 million in acquiring the Bend Bulletin and the Rogue Valley Times out of Medford.

In 2023 the EO Media Group sold the building that housed the East Oregonian for many years.

While many industry analysts saw the implosion of Pamplin, few would have thought that the EO Media Group would be in a similar situation.

Each week in the United States, 2.5 local newspapers close permanently. The rise of independent and highly partisan or skewed media sources have overtaken local news publications.