Oregon newspapers continue to downsize, but the problem is especially acute in smaller towns

 

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By MIKE ROGOWAY/The Oregonian/OregonLive

The 21st Century has not been kind to Oregon newspapers.

The state’s papers have shed three-quarters their jobs since 2001 as readers and advertisers moved online, according to data from the Oregon Employment Department. The industry has lost thousands of jobs altogether as publications downsized and, in some cases, stopped printing altogether.

The cutbacks are continuing this summer.

EO Media stopped printing five weekly or biweekly papers in June and laid off more than two-dozen staffers. The cutbacks hit publications in eastern and central Oregon, in communities like Hermiston, Baker City, Medford, Pendleton and Bend.

Carpenter Media Group laid off at least a half-dozen employees earlier this month, shortly after acquiring the former Pamplin Media chain.

Two decades of job losses hit papers large and small – The Oregonian has shed hundreds of jobs through buyouts, layoffs and attrition over the past 15 years. But recent losses may be felt most acutely in small towns, which don’t have TV and radio stations or professionally run online publications.

That can leave a “news desert” where a local information void is filled by rumor and gossip traded on social media sites – and where there’s no one holding local governments accountable or acknowledging good news, like high school graduations and weddings.

“Without a local newspaper, a community loses its connection to the past, its ability to bring people together to resolve issues in a civil manner and most importantly – we lose a common bond of celebrating our community and the people that make it special,” said J. Brian Monihan, Carpenter Media’s Oregon publisher.

The economic factors behind the papers’ decline are well understood.

Fewer readers were willing to pay for a printed newspaper as information became available for free on the internet.

But even free weekly papers struggled because they were entirely dependent on advertising. The ad market moved online, too, where Google and Facebook could offer individually targeted ads based on people’s browsing history and social media activity.

A handful of extremely large papers, notably The New York Times, are thriving in the internet era because they have dramatically expanded their audience. The Oregonian/OregonLive and other regional publications appear to have found a measure of stability by charging for online subscriptions.

In smaller communities the picture is darker.

The Gannett chain, for example, eliminated nearly all the journalists from The Register-Guard newspaper in Eugene, dramatically reducing the newspaper’s expenses while continuing to charge for subscriptions.

Small towns often don’t have enough potential subscribers to cover their costs and haven’t found a new revenue stream that could revive their businesses.

“We’re undermining our ability to sustain a functional democracy when we see these local newspapers start to take the hits that they’re taking,” said Kaitlin Gillespie, executive officer with the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild. “There’s going to come an inflection point where we discover that we’ve created a real crisis here.”

In percentage terms, Oregon newspapers suffered double-digit job losses in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The industry hasn’t added jobs in any year since 2004.

The news isn’t all bad, though.

Nonprofit outlets like Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Oregon Capital Chronicle added jobs even as the newspaper industry cratered, replacing some of the statewide and local news coverage.

Online publications are emerging, too, like the Salem Reporter and the forthcoming Lookout Eugene-Springfield. Backed by local investors, they aspire to pick up the slack left by downsizing at the national newspaper chains.

Some states have begun experimenting with government support to prop up local news.

Earlier this year the Washington lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to increase a tax break for newspaper publishers and last year they voted to spend $2.4 million to create a journalism fellowship program at Washington State University. The program aims to send eight recent graduates to publications around Washington to cover local news.

“I’m really optimistic about it. I think if we continue to grow capacity on programs like that, that can be a real game-changer for the industry,” Gillespie said.

The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association may ask the Oregon Legislature to pursue similar initiatives during the session starting next year.

Chelsea Marr, owner of the Columbia Gorge news and president of the Oregon publishers association, said it’s important for local communities to have someone writing features about residents, covering sports and posting business updates.

“Smaller publications really do have value in their communities,” Marr said. “Journalists are watchdogs for local government and politicians, and coverage lets readers see how their elected officials are doing in real time.”

Oregon newspapers are looking at what state government is doing for newspapers in Washington and comparing it to efforts in Illinois, New York and California, Marr said. She said the newspaper association expects to come up with a proposal for Oregon lawmakers in the months ahead.

“It costs money to publish, and we no longer have the resources we once did,” Marr said. “If our communities care about…hometown news, then I hope we can see a proactive investment in our industry.”

• Mike Rogoway covers Oregon technology and the state economy. Reach him at mrogoway@oregonian.com or 503-294-7699.