Central Oregonian

Weekly newspaper published in Prineville, Oregon

Central Oregonian

Type| Twice-weekly newspaper
Owner(s)| Pamplin Media Group
Founder(s)| Horace Dillard
Founded| 1881 (as Prineville News)
Language| English
Headquarters| Prineville, Oregon
Circulation| 5,253 (as of 2022)[1]
Website| centraloregonian.com

The Central Oregonian is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Prineville in the U.S. state of Oregon. Tracing its roots to 1881, the paper covers Central Oregon where it is the newspaper of record for Crook County.[2][3]

## History

[edit]

The first newspaper published in Prineville was the Ochoco Pioneer, founded by John E. Jeffrey in 1880. The paper ceased after a few months. In 1881, Horace Dillard founded the Prineville News. He took in D. W. Aldridge as a business partner, who later became the editor and publisher.[4] On Nov. 11, 1883, a fire destroyed the newspaper's office, causing $1,500 worth of damage to the News.[5][4] Aldridge was editor and publisher until the role was given to Fred E. Wilmarth in 1893.[6] Aldridge sold the paper in April 1894.[7] It was later absorbed by the Ochoco Review, started in Prineville by Douthit & Barnes in June 1885. The paper from then on was known as the Prineville Review.[4]

In November 1894, traveling printer-editor Bruce "Rocky Mountain" Smith, a notorious heavy-drinker, recruited school-teacher W. F. Magee to publish the Mitchell Monitor in Mitchell, Oregon. A. C. Palmer purchased the paper and printing plant around 1898 and moved it to Prineville, where he renamed the Monitor to the Crook County Journal.[8] In 1901, Palmer sold the paper to W. T. Fogle, who sold a half interest to W. H. Parker. In 1903, the paper was owned by W. C. Black and S. M. Bailey.[4]

J. N. Williamson was made manager of the combined Prineville Review paper that formed in 1894 and was succeeded by L. N. Liggett, who bought the publication. He sold it in July 1902 to William Holder, who in turn sold it to A. H. Kennedy in April 1904. Charles O. Pollard was editor and publisher of the Review in 1915, by then renamed back to the Prineville News.[4] A. M. Byrd purchased the News in March 1917.[9] He renamed it the following month to the Central Oregon Enterprise.[10] Byrd sold the paper in 1920 to Floyd A. Fessler,[11] who renamed it to the Prineville Call.[4]

In 1915, Guy La Follette purchased the Crook County Journal from J. H. Gray.[12] Six years later he merged the paper with Fessler's Prineville Call on July 14, 1921 to form the Central Oregonian.[13][4] Fessler sold his stake the following month to George H. Flagg,[14] who in turn sold his share to La Follette in January 1922.[15] La Follette, with full ownership, sold the paper for the third time in eight months to Robert H. Jonas in April 1922.[16] Jonas and his sons sold the Central Oregonian in 1939 to Remey M. Cox, who simultaneously purchased Crook County News from Steve Bailey and merged it into the paper.[17][18]

Cox's widow sold the paper to L. R. Batman in 1952.[19][18] Two years Batman sold the Central Oregonian to Monroe Sweetland, who then traded it to Edward A. Donnelly for his Milwaukie Review.[20][21] Donnelly purchased the Tribune Publishing Company, a newspaper printing plant in Prineville, from Steve Bailey in 1959.[22] After Donnelly's death in 1962,[23] his family owned the Central Oregonian until selling it in September 1969 to Eagle Newspapers.[24] Eagle owned the paper for 44 years until selling it to Pamplin Media Group in June 2013.[25][26] In October 2018, the newspaper implemented a paywall on its website, under which users are permitted free access to three stories per calendar month, after which payment of per-story fee is required for non-subscribers.[27] In 2024, Robert B. Pamplin Jr. sold his newspaper company to Carpenter Media Group.[28]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Pamplin Media Group: Media Kit 2022" (PDF). October 19, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
2. ^ "Newspapers and Genealogical Resources". University of Oregon Libraries. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
3. ^ "Central Oregonian". Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Turnbull, George S. (1939). "Crook County" . History of Oregon Newspapers . Binfords and Mort.
5. ^ "The Fire Record". San Francisco Chronicle. November 15, 1883. p. 3.
6. ^ "Social and Personal". Albany Democrat. January 6, 1893. p. 3.
7. ^ "Prineville News". Albany Democrat. April 20, 1894. p. 3.
8. ^ Turnbull, George S. (1939). "Wheeler County" . History of Oregon Newspapers . Binfords and Mort.
9. ^ "Byrd Sells Juntura Times To George Crow". The Ontario Argus. March 8, 1917. p. 1.
10. ^ "Central Oregon Enterprise". The Bend Bulletin. April 4, 1917. p. 2.
11. ^ "Newspaper Changes Hands". La Grande Observer. March 15, 1920. p. 3.
12. ^ "Oregon Sidelights". The Oregon Daily Journal. January 1, 1915. p. 6.
13. ^ "Prinville Papers Combine". The Oregon Daily Journal. July 14, 1921. p. 2.
14. ^ "Prineville Paper Is Reported Sold". The Bend Bulletin. August 10, 1921. p. 2.
15. ^ "La Follette Again Newspaper Owner". The Bend Bulletin. January 31, 1922. p. 1.
16. ^ "Prineville Paper Sold Third Time". The Bend Bulletin. April 1, 1922. p. 1.
17. ^ "Cox Consolidates Prineville Papers". The Bend Bulletin. November 30, 1939. p. 1.
18. ^ a b "Central Oregon Newspaper Sold To Californians". The Bend Bulletin. August 1, 1952. p. 1.
19. ^ "Prineville Paper Sold". The Oregon Daily Journal. July 31, 1952. p. 5.
20. ^ "Prineville Paper Sale 'in Works,' Report Indicates". The Bend Bulletin. March 18, 1954. p. 1.
21. ^ "Welcome and Farwell". The Bend Bulletin. March 30, 1954. p. 4.
22. ^ "Donnelly buys printing firm". The Bend Bulletin. June 26, 1959. p. 7.
23. ^ "Prineville Publisher's Rites Pend". Statesman Journal. February 13, 1962. p. 5.
24. ^ "Paper Sold At Prineville". The Oregonian. Associated Press. September 26, 1969. p. 33.
25. ^ Giegerich, Andy (June 27, 2013). "Pamplin group buys Prineville's Central Oregonian paper". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
26. ^ Pamplin Media Group (June 27, 2013). "Pamplin newspaper group buys Central Oregonian". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
27. ^ Ahern, Tony (October 22, 2018). "Central Oregonian moving to metered paywall on website". Central Oregonian. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
28. ^ Rogoway, Mike (June 3, 2024). "Pamplin Media, Portland Tribune's owner, sells to Carpenter Media". The Oregonian. Retrieved June 8, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
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Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association

General members|

* Albany Democrat-Herald
* Argus Observer
* Ashland Daily Tidings
* The Astorian
* Baker City Herald
* Beaverton Valley Times
* Blue Mountain Eagle
* The Bulletin
* Burns Times-Herald
* Central Oregonian
* The Chronicle
* The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief
* Columbia County Spotlight
* Columbia Gorge News
* The Columbia Press
* The Coquille Valley Sentinel
* Corvallis Gazette-Times
* Cottage Grove Sentinel
* Curry Coastal Pilot
* Curry County Reporter
* Daily Journal of Commerce
* Dead Mountain Echo
* The Douglas County Mail
* Douglas County News
* The Drain Enterprise
* East Oregonian
* Grants Pass Daily Courier
* Headlight-Herald
* Hells Canyon Journal
* Heppner Gazette-Times
* Herald and News
* The Herald-Pioneer
* The Hermiston Herald
* Illinois Valley News
* Keizertimes
* Lake County Examiner
* Lake Oswego Review
* Lebanon Express
* Lincoln County Leader
* The Madras Pioneer
* Mail Tribune
* Malheur Enterprise
* Myrtle Point Herald
* The New Era
* The Newberg Graphic
* The News-Review
* News-Register
* News-Times (Forest Grove)
* The Observer
* The Oregonian
* The Outlook
* Pendleton Record
* Polk County Itemizer-Observer
* The Redmond Spokesman
* The Register-Guard
* Rogue River Press
* Sandy Post
* Siuslaw News
* Silverton Appeal Tribune
* Springfield Times
* Statesman Journal
* Stayton Mail
* The Times
* The Times
* Times-Journal
* The Umpqua Post
* Valley Herald
* Wallowa County Chieftain
* West Linn Tidings
* Wilsonville Spokesman
* Woodburn Independent
* The World

Associate members|

* The Bee
* Cannon Beach Gazette
* Capital Press
* Cascade Business News
* Catholic Sentinel/El Centinela
* The Charbonneau Villager
* Clackamas Review
* Coast River Business Journal
* Eugene Weekly
* Forest Grove Leader
* The Hillsboro Argus
* Hillsboro Tribune
* Lebanon Local
* The Mountain Times
* Newberry Eagle
* North Coast Citizen
* Northwest Boomer & Senior News
* Nugget Newspaper
* Oregon Association of Broadcasters
* Oregon State Bar
* Port Orford News
* Portland Tribune
* The Regal Courier
* Salem Weekly
* Seaside Signal
* The Sherwood Gazette
* Smoke Signals
* The Source Weekly
* Southwest Community Connection
* Spilyay Tymoo
* Upper Rogue Independent
* Wheeler County News
* Willamette Week

Collegiate members|

* The Advocate (Mount Hood Community College)
* The Beacon (University of Portland)
* The Broadside (University of Portland)
* Byline (Rogue Community College)
* Chemeketa Courier (Chemeketa Community College)
* Clackamas Print (Clackamas Community College)
* The Commuter (Chemeketa Community College)
* The Crescent (George Fox University)
* The Daily Barometer (Oregon State University)
* Daily Emerald (University of Oregon)
* The Hilltop (Corban University)
* The Ignite (New Hope Christian College)
* The Linfield Review (Linfield College)
* The Mainstream (Umpqua Community College)
* The Pacific Index (Pacific University)
* The Pioneer Log (Lewis & Clark College)
* Portland State Vanguard (Portland State University)
* The Rearguard (Portland State University)
* The Siskiyou (Southern Oregon University)
* The Southwester (Southwestern Oregon Community College)
* The Voice (Multnomah Bible College)
* The Torch (Lane Community College)
* The Voice (Eastern Oregon University)
* Western Oregon Journal (Western Oregon University)
* Willamette Collegian (Willamette University)

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