EO Media Group explained

EO Media Group
Type:Private
Industry:Media
Owner:Kathryn B. Brown
Num Employees:185
Num Employees Year:2024
Key People:Steve Forrester (President & CEO), Kathryn B. Brown (Vice President)

The EO Media Group, formerly known as the East Oregonian Publishing Company, is a newspaper publishing company based in the U.S. state of Oregon. It publishes 17 newspapers in the state and in southwestern Washington.

History

The company, which has been family-owned for four generations,[1] was previously known as the East Oregonian Publishing Company.[2] It changed its name to EO Media Group in January 2013.[3]

It is owned by the Aldrich and Forrester families, members of which previously owned several newspapers (including the East Oregonian and The Daily Astorian) independently.[4] [5] The connection between the East Oregonian and The Daily Astorian dates to 1909, when several East Oregonian staffers bought the Astoria Budget, which was later merged with the Astorian.[6] In 1973, the father and son (J. W. Forrester, Jr. and Michael A. Forrester) who had been publishing the East Oregonian and the Daily Astorian switched positions.[7]

The company acquired the Blue Mountain Eagle in 1979, the Chinook Observer in 1988, the Capital Press in 1991, The Hermiston Herald in 2008, and Seaside Signal in 2003.[8] [9]

In 2014, the EO Media Group partnered with the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes the Portland Tribune and 24 other weekly and monthly publications in Oregon, to form the Oregon Capital Bureau and publish the Oregon Capital Insider newsletter. The partnership came as the number of reporters assigned to state capital bureaus nationwide was on the decline. In 2018, the newly-launched Salem Reporter joined the bureau, and its publisher, Les Zaitz, was assigned to lead its three reporters. As of spring 2020, the Salem Reporter and Zaitz are no longer part of the Oregon Capital Bureau.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

The Aldrich-Forrester-Bedford-Brown family, which owns the EO Media Group, was covered in the 2018 book Grit and Ink: An Oregon Family's Adventures in Newspapering, 1908–2018 by William F. Willingham. The book was published by the EO Media Group; but according to the author, it isn't an "authorized biography," and he had "wide open" ground rules. The book was to be distributed by the Oregon State University Press.

In 2019, EO Media Group acquired the Baker City Herald, The Observer (La Grande),[17] The Bulletin (Bend) and The Redmond Spokesman[18] from Western Communications.[19]

In 2020, EO Media Group closed its press in Pendleton installed in 2013 to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, who will print all of the company's papers moving forward.[20] In 2023, the company sold its Pendleton office building which it had owned since 1956.[21]

In June 2024, EO Media Group announced cutbacks to staff and print frequency. Twenty-eight employees, or 15% of total staff, were laid off and another 19 will have their hours reduced. The Bend Bulletin, East Oregonian and The Rogue Valley Times each eliminated a print day. Five newspapers suspended print entirely and went online-only: The La Grande Observer, Blue Mountain Eagle, Hermiston Herald, Wallowa County Chieftain and the Baker City Herald.[22] [23]

Formerly owned publications

Awards

The group won a top regional award for its "Fate of Our Forests" series from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, in a regional group including papers under 25,000 circulation from Montana to Alaska.[25] The same series, which ran in 2011, had previously won the Dolly Connelly Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting from the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association.[26]

Newspapers

Newspapers owned by EO Media Group!State!City!Newspaper
OregonAstoriaThe Astorian
OregonBaker CityBaker City Herald
OregonJohn DayBlue Mountain Eagle
OregonBendThe Bulletin (Bend)
OregonSalemCapital Press
Washington (state)Long BeachChinook Observer
WashingtonLong BeachCoast River Business Journal
OregonPendletonEast Oregonian
OregonHermistonHermiston Herald
OregonLa GrandeThe Observer
OregonSeasideSeaside Signal
OregonAstoriaOur Coast Magazine
OregonRedmondRedmond Spokesman
OregonEnterpriseWallowa County Chieftain
OregonMedfordRogue Valley Times[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Good News for Small Papers . Rafter . Michelle V. . January 31, 2009 . Oregon Business . November 8, 2018 . en-gb.
  2. News: 'Grit and Ink' documents a newspaper family . October 19, 2018 . The East Oregonian . Erick . Bengel .
  3. Web site: About Us . . September 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230614182331/https://www.eastoregonian.com/site/about.html . June 14, 2023 . live.
  4. News: New chief operating officer takes over at EOPC . June 2, 2005 . Wallowa County Chieftain.
  5. News: Longtime Journalist J.W. 'Bud' Forrester Jr. Dies: In a Newspaper Career that Spanned Six Decades, Forrester Combined Journalism and Public Service . February 23, 2000 . The Oregonian . Foster . Church .
  6. Book: Turnbull, George S. . . 1939 . . .
  7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19730713&id=DDpYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WvcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5307,1168208 "Changes at the helms"
  8. News: Signal Sold . . February 28, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130306010545/http://www.seasidesignal.com/news/signal-sold/article_b950f000-81d1-11e2-be4e-0019bb2963f4.html . March 6, 2013 . dead .
  9. Web site: EO Media Group Acquires Three Newspapers on Oregon Coast . 2022-07-25 . EO Media Group LLC . en.
  10. News: In Oregon, three news organizations are teaming up to cover state government . Hare . Kristen . September 24, 2018 . Poynter . October 30, 2018 . en.
  11. News: Zuckerberg's death grip on Instagram . Ingram . Mathew . September 26, 2018 . Columbia Journalism Review . October 30, 2018 . en.
  12. News: Salem Reporter joins 2 news groups to expand state reporting . September 24, 2018 . Salem Reporter . October 30, 2018 . en.
  13. News: Media teams join forces to cover state government, politics . September 24, 2018 . Portland Tribune . October 30, 2018 . en-gb.
  14. News: Expanded state government reporting comes to Oregon . September 24, 2018 . Blue Mountain Eagle . October 30, 2018.
  15. News: EO Media Group, Pamplin launch Salem bureau for statehouse reporting . August 1, 2014 . Capital Press . 2018-10-30.
  16. News: Newsletter covering Oregon government debuts . February 23, 2015 . Blue Mountain Eagle . October 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20150702032052/http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/Business/20150223/newsletter-covering-oregon-government-debuts. July 2, 2015. live.
  17. Web site: Cutler . Andrew . Purchase of Observer, Herald becomes final . East Oregonian. July 29, 2019.
  18. Web site: Wright. Phil. EO Media Group buys Bend Bulletin. East Oregonian. July 29, 2019.
  19. Web site: Wright. Phil. Observer's company buys Bend Bulletin. Chinook Observer. July 29, 2019 . 2022-07-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20200927052442/https://www.chinookobserver.com/news/observers-company-buys-bend-bulletin/article_c2e23b08-b256-11e9-afed-fbfebc7e9d03.html . September 27, 2020. live.
  20. Web site: 2020-11-03 . East Oregonian to move printing operations to Walla Walla . 2024-06-06 . EO Media Group LLC . en.
  21. Web site: Haverinen . Richard . 2023-12-14 . East Oregonian building to sell to nonprofit . 2024-06-06 . East Oregonian . en.
  22. Web site: 2024-06-03 . EO Media Group announces changes to newspaper operations . 2024-06-03 . East Oregonian . en.
  23. Web site: Buckley . Kyra . June 3, 2024 . Company that runs Bulletin, other Northwest newspapers to slash workforce and scale back print distribution . 2024-06-03 . OPB . en.
  24. Web site: New owner seizes the TODAY . 2022-07-25 . Oregon Coast TODAY . en-US.
  25. News: May 21, 2012 . Series on forests earns regional journalism award . The Daily Astorian.
  26. Web site: Newspaper group earns environmental award for forest series News dailyastorian.com .
  27. News: Manning . Jeff . Startup newspaper in Medford to change name, publisher cites legal threats . March 19, 2023 . . March 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230302075351/https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2023/03/startup-newspaper-in-medford-to-change-name-publisher-cites-legal-threats.html . March 2, 2023 . live.