Wallowa County Chieftain

Last updated
Wallowa County Chieftain
Type Weekly newspaper
Owner(s) EO Media Group
Founder(s)S. A. Heckethorn
Founded1884
Headquarters209 N.W. First St. Enterprise, OR 97828
City Enterprise, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Circulation 1,916 Print
373 Digital(as of 2023) [1]
Website wallowa.com

The Wallowa County Chieftain is a weekly newspaper in Enterprise, Wallowa County in the U.S. state of Oregon.

History

Founded in Joseph in 1884 by S. A. Heckethorn, the newspaper preceded the establishment of the county itself. [2] [3] A few years after Enterprise was selected as the county seat, the paper relocated there. [2] [4] Though the newspaper was named after Chief Joseph, it was not particularly friendly to Native American issues, and opposed a Joseph's request to resettle Wallowa Valley in 1900. [5]

George Cheney became the owner, editor, and publisher in 1911, on the wave of an economic boom experienced in Enterprise upon the completion of a railroad and sawmill, as well as a booming agricultural business. Cheney built a new building, designed to meet the needs of the paper, which it occupied beginning in 1916. [2] Cheney sold the Enterprise Chieftain in 1941 to Gwen Tappen Coffin. [6] Under Coffin, the paper absorbed the Wallowa Sun in 1942 to form the Wallowa Chieftain, [7] and then the Chief Joseph Herald in 1959 to become the Wallowa County Chieftain. [8]

Coffin was a "controversial editor" who wrote columns opposing the internment of Japanese Americans, opposing the Vietnam War and opposing increased logging in federal forests. He was induced into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1993 and died the following year. Coffin operated the paper until 1971. [9] He sold the Chieftain to his son-in-law Don Swart Sr., who operated the paper until selling it to his son and daughter-in-law Richard and Cheryl Swart in 1998. [10] In March 2000, the East Oregonian Publishing Co. purchased the newspaper from Richard and Cheryl Swart. [11] [12]

In June 2024, EO Media Group announced the Wallowa County Chieftain will cease print publication and go online-only. All print subscribers will instead receive the East Oregonian , published weekly and including news from Wallowa County Chieftain's website. [13] [14] In October 2024, the company was sold to Carpenter Media Group. [15] In December 2024, the paper's editor was laid off, leaving only one reporter to cover Wallowa and Union counties. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Oregonian</i> Daily newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

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.

<i>The Astorian</i> Newspaper in Astoria, Oregon

The Astorian, formerly known as The Daily Astorian, is a newspaper, published in Astoria, Oregon, United States, established in 1873, and in publication continuously since then. The paper serves the Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside area, the Long Beach Peninsula, and surrounding areas. The newspaper is published three times each week and is owned by EO Media Group.

<i>Capital Press</i> US weekly agricultural newspaper

The Capital Press is a weekly agricultural newspaper covering the West Coast of the United States, and published in Salem, Oregon. The newspaper covers farming, ranching and agriculture industries in the Pacific Northwest. The newspaper is owned by the EO Media Group.

<i>East Oregonian</i>

The East Oregonian is a weekly newspaper published in Pendleton, Oregon, United States and covering Umatilla and Morrow counties. EO is owned by EO Media Group and is the newspaper of record for Umatilla County.

The Seaside Signal is a weekly newspaper published for the community of Seaside, Oregon, United States.

The Beaverton Valley Times, also known as the Valley Times, is a weekly newspaper covering the city of Beaverton, Oregon, United States, and adjacent unincorporated areas in the northern part of the Tualatin Valley. Owned since 2000 by the Pamplin Media Group, the paper was established in 1921. Currently based in neighboring Portland, the Valley Times is printed each Thursday.

The Observer, established in 1896, is a newspaper that serves Union and Wallowa counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its headquarters are in La Grande, the seat of Union County. The Observer circulates Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. EO Media Group based in Salem, Oregon, publishes the newspaper.

<i>The Bulletin</i> (Bend) Newspaper published in Bend, Oregon

The Bulletin is a newspaper in Bend, Oregon, United States. The Bulletin is owned by EO Media Group.

Eagle Newspapers was an American newspaper publisher serving the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. The company originated in 1948 when Elmo Smith purchased the Blue Mountain Eagle. He would later sell the paper but the company's name would be derived from that title. Smith served a partial term as Oregon Governor and upon his death the business was managed by his son Denny Smith, who rapidly grew it from three newspapers to nearly twenty in the span of two decades. By 1985, Eagle Newspapers publications accounted for nearly one-half of the weekly newspapers sold each week in Oregon. The company sold off its last paper in 2020.

The Cottage Grove Sentinel is a weekly newspaper serving the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon, United States. It was established in 1889 and is published on Wednesdays with a circulation of 2,829.

The Hermiston Herald is a weekly newspaper published on Wednesdays in Hermiston, Oregon, United States, since 1906.

The Baker City Herald is a tri-weekly paper published in Baker City, Oregon, United States, since 1870. It is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and is owned by EO Media Group.

<i>The Redmond Spokesman</i>

The Redmond Spokesman is a weekly newspaper published in Redmond, Oregon, United States. It serves the city of Redmond and neighboring communities in northern Deschutes County, focusing on local news and events. The Spokesman was founded in 1910 by Henry H. Palmer. Today, the paper is owned by EO Media Group.

The Columbia County Spotlight, previously known as the Scappoose Spotlight and the South County Spotlight, is a weekly newspaper in Columbia County, Oregon, United States, established in 1961. The paper serves Scappoose and St. Helens, and covers communities along Highway 30 from Linnton and Sauvie Island to Clatskanie. The editorial staff is based in Scappoose, while some administration and creative services are based in Milwaukie at the headquarters of Pamplin Media Group, which owns the newspaper. The Spotlight is one of a number of community newspapers in the group, including the Forest Grove News-Times and the Hillsboro Tribune. It is a general member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and its coverage has been cited by other newspapers in the area, including The Oregonian. The paper it is part of the Northwest News Partnership, along with Daily Astorian and the EO Media Group.

The Blue Mountain Eagle is a weekly newspaper published on Wednesdays in John Day, Oregon. It is a newspaper of record for Grant County.

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.

The Chinook Observer is a weekly newspaper serving the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington state.

Journalism in the U.S. state of Oregon had its origins from the American settlers of the Oregon Country in the 1840s. This was decades after explorers like Robert Gray and Lewis and Clark first arrived in the region, several months before the first newspaper was issued in neighboring California, and several years before the United States formally asserted control of the region by establishing the Oregon Territory.

The Hood River Glacier was a newspaper serving Hood River in the U.S. state of Oregon from 1889 to 1933.

References

  1. ↑ "EO Media Group Publishing Map". EO Media Group LLC. 2023-03-06. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  2. 1 2 3 Turnbull, George S. (1939). "Wallowa County"  . History of Oregon Newspapers  . Binfords and Mort.
  3. ↑ "Enterprise chieftain" – via chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
  4. ↑ Pedersen, Nathan (January 6, 2024). "Enterprise". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ Lozar, Patrick; Rinn, Daniel. "Joseph, Wallowa Chieftain". Oregon Digital Newspaper Program. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Enterprise Chieftain Under New Publisher". Statesman Journal. Associated Press. October 19, 1941. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Wallowa County Papers Merge Because of War". The Oregon Daily Journal. November 29, 194. p. 12.
  8. ↑ "Weekly Papers Consolidate". La Grande Observer. February 27, 1959. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Ex-publisher of Wallowa County paper dies". The Oregonian. December 16, 1994. p. 54.
  10. ↑ "About Us | Wallowa County Chieftain carries on long, proud tradition". Wallowa County Chieftain. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  11. ↑ "Two newspaper families to join forces". Albany Democrat-Herald. Associated Press. February 25, 2000. p. 4.
  12. ↑ Brown, Kathryn (2024-06-23). "From My Corner: A sad chapter in the Chieftain's rich history". Wallowa County Chieftain. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
  13. ↑ "EO Media Group announces changes to newspaper operations". East Oregonian. 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  14. ↑ Buckley, Kyra (June 3, 2024). "Company that runs Bulletin, other Northwest newspapers to slash workforce and scale back print distribution". OPB. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  15. ↑ Rogoway, Mike (2024-10-23). "Oregon newspaper chain EO Media sells itself to Mississippi company". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  16. ↑ Haas, Ryan (December 5, 2024). "Carpenter Media proceeds with more layoffs, cost cutting at Oregon newspapers". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.