The Oregonian
The Oregonian is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850, and published daily since 1861. It is the largest newspaper in Oregon and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest by circulation. It is one of the few newspapers with a statewide focus in the United States. The Sunday edition is published under the title The Sunday Oregonian. The regular edition was published under the title The Morning Oregonian from 1861 until 1937.
The Oregonian received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the only gold medal annually awarded by the organization. The paper's staff or individual writers have received seven other Pulitzer Prizes, most recently the award for Editorial Writing in 2014.
In late 2013, home delivery has been reduced to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday while retaining print copies daily through news stands/newsracks. In January 2024, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday print edition were discontinued.
History
Establishment
One year prior to the incorporation of the tiny town of Portland, Oregon, in 1851, prospective leaders of the new community determined to establish a local newspaper—an institution which was seen as a prerequisite for urban growth. Chief among these pioneer community organizers seeking establishment of a Portland press were Col. W.W. Chapman and prominent local businessman Henry W. Corbett. In the fall of 1850, Chapman and Corbett traveled to San Francisco, at the time far and away the largest city on the west coast of the United States, in search of an editor interested in and capable of producing a weekly newspaper in Portland. There the pair met Thomas J. Dryer, a transplanted New Yorker who was an energetic writer with both printing equipment and previous experience in the production of a small circulation community newspaper in his native Ulster County, New York.First weekly issues
Dryer's press was transported to Portland and it was there on December 4, 1850, that the first issue of The Weekly Oregonian found its readers. Each weekly issue consisted of four pages, printed six columns wide. Little attention was paid to current news events, with the bulk of the paper's content devoted to political themes and biographical commentary. The paper took a staunch political line supportive of the Whig Party—an orientation which soon brought it into conflict with The Statesman, a Democratic paper launched at Oregon City not long after The Weekly Oregonian debut. A loud and bitter rivalry between the competing news organs ensued.1860s–1870s
Pittock era
became the owner in 1861 as compensation for unpaid wages, and he began publishing the paper daily, except Sundays. Pittock's goal was to focus more on news than the bully pulpit established by Dryer. He ordered a new press in December 1860 and also arranged for the news to be sent by telegraph to Redding, California, then by stagecoach to Jacksonville, Oregon, and then by pony express to Portland.Scott era
From 1866 to 1872 Harvey W. Scott was the editor. Henry W. Corbett bought the paper from a cash-poor Pittock in October 1872 and placed William Lair Hill as editor. Scott, fired by Corbett for supporting Ben Holladay's candidates, became editor of Holladay's rival Portland Daily Bulletin. The paper went out of print in 1876, Holladay having lost $200,000 in the process. Corbett sold The Oregonian back to Pittock in 1877, marking a return of Scott to the paper's editorial helm. A part-owner of the paper, Scott would remain as editor-in-chief until shortly before his death in 1910.1880s–1890s
One of the journalists who began his career on The Oregonian during this time period was James J. Montague who took over and wrote the column "Slings & Arrows" until he was hired away by William Randolph Hearst in 1902. In this time period Governor Sylvester Pennoyer prominently criticized the Oregonian for calling for vigilante "justice" against Chinese Americans. The West Shore criticized the Oregonian for its sensationalized coverage of the English monarchy.''Sunday Oregonian''
In 1881, the first Sunday Oregonian was published. The paper became known as the voice of business-oriented Republicans, as evidenced by consistent endorsement of Republican candidates for president in every federal election before 1992.New location
The paper's offices and presses were originally housed in a two-story building at the intersection of First Street and Morrison Street, but in 1892 the paper moved into a new nine-story building at 6th and Alder streets. The new building was, the same as its predecessor, called the Oregonian Building. It included a clock tower at one corner, and the building's overall height of 194 to 196 feet made it the tallest structure in Portland, a distinction it retained until the completion of the Yeon Building in 1911. It contained about of floor space, including the basement but not the tower. The newspaper did not move again until 1948. The 1892 building was demolished in 1950.1900s–1940s
Following the death of Harvey Scott in 1910, the paper's editor-in-chief was Edgar B. Piper, who had previously been managing editor. Piper remained editor until his death in 1928.The Oregonian's first female journalist, Louise Bryant, joined the paper around 1909.
The ''Morning Oregonian'' and KGW
In 1922, the Oregonian discontinued its weekly edition, and launched KGW, Oregon's first commercial radio station. Five years later, KGW affiliated with NBC. The newspaper purchased a second station, KEX, in 1933, from NBC subsidiary Northwest Broadcasting Co. In 1944, KEX was sold to Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc. The Oregonian launched KGW-FM, the Northwest's first FM station, in 1946, known today as KKRZ. KGW and KGW-FM were sold to King Broadcasting Co in 1953.In 1937, The Morning Oregonian shortened its name to The Oregonian. Two years later, associate editor Ronald G. Callvert received a Pulitzer Prize for editorial reporting for "distinguished editorial writing...as exemplified by the editorial entitled "My Country 'Tis of Thee".
A 20-year trust under which the Oregonian was conducted expired in 1939. O. L. Price, who managed the newspaper under the trust, retired at age 61 upon its expiration. Ownership reverted to the heirs of Pittock and H. W. Scott.
Move in 1948
In 1948, the paper moved to a new location within downtown, where its headquarters ultimately would remain for the next 66 years, on SW Broadway between Jefferson Street and Columbia Street. The new building was designed by Pietro Belluschi and again was named the Oregonian Building. The block was previously home to the William S. Ladd mansion, which had been demolished around 1925. Circa 1946, The Oregonian purchased the block for $100,000, which led to complaints from paper editor Leslie M. Scott because of the outrageous price. Three years later, Scott purchased a nearby block for the state at $300,000 while holding the office of Oregon State Treasurer.The new Oregonian building was to contain the KGW radio station and a television studio, as well as a large and opulent dining room. The contractor was L. H. Hoffman, who was under a very profitable cost-plus contract. Aside from the "extravagance of design", construction materials were in short supply, the nation was under heavy inflation, and Belluschi's plans were never ready, leading to massive costs. The Oregonian had to borrow from banks, the first time in over 50 years. New company president E. B. MacNaughton was forced to exhaust the company's loan limits at First National Bank, then turn to the Bank of America. MacNaughton then eliminated an extra elevator, the dining room, and KGW's radio and television studios. The building still cost $4 million, twice the original estimate.
The building opened in 1948, but The Oregonian had to sell it to Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company for $3.6 million in a leaseback arrangement. Further financial issues led to the 1950 sale to Samuel Newhouse.
1950s–1960s
In 1950, Advance Publications founder S. I. "Si" Newhouse purchased the paper. At that time, the sale price of $5.6 million was the largest for a single newspaper. The sale was announced on December 11, 1950. In 1954, Newhouse bought 50% of Mount Hood Radio & Television Broadcasting Corp, which broadcasts KOIN-TV, Portland's first VHF television station, KOIN AM, and KOIN-FM. The Oregonian circulation in 1950 was 214,916; that of the rival Oregon Journal was 190,844.In 1957, staff writers William Lambert and Wallace Turner were awarded that year's Pulitzer Prize for Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting - No Edition time. Their prize cited "their expose of vice and corruption in Portland involving some municipal officials and officers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, Western Conference" and noted that "they fulfilled their assignments despite great handicaps and the risk of reprisal from lawless elements."
The ''Oregon Journal''
What was to become a long and heated strike began against both The Oregonian and The Oregon Journal began in November 1959. The strike was called by Stereotypers Local 49 over various contract issues, particularly the introduction of more automated plate-casting machinery; the new-to-American-publishing German-made equipment required one operator instead of the four that operated the existing equipment. Wallace Turner and many other writers and photographers refused to cross the picket lines and never returned. The two newspapers published a "joint, typo-marred paper" for six months until they had hired enough nonunion help to resume separate operations. Starting in February 1960, striking union workers published a daily newspaper, The Reporter; its circulation peaked at 78,000, but was shut down in October 1964.In 1961, Newhouse bought The Oregon Journal, Portland's afternoon daily newspaper. Production and business operations of the two newspapers were consolidated in The Oregonian building, while their editorial staffs remained separate. The National Labor Relations Board ruled the strike illegal in November 1963. Strikers continued to picket until April 4, 1965, at which point the two newspapers became open shops.