The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...
, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The ''Statesman Journal'' is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and portions of the mid-
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...
. The average weekday circulation is 27,859, with Sunday's readership listed at 36,323. It is owned, along with the neighboring '' Stayton Mail'' and '' Silverton Appeal Tribune'', by the national
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Samuel Thurston, the first delegate from the Oregon Territory to the US Congress.Corning, Howard M. (1989) ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 186. His editor and co-founder was Asahel Bush; the paper was a Democratic Party response to the Whig-controlled Portland-based paper, ''
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, 18 ...
''. The first issue was dated March 28, 1851, printed on a hand press in
Oregon City
)
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, image_map ...
, the provincial capital from 1848 to 1851.
Thurston died on April 9 of that year while returning from the nation's capital to the Territory, and Bush then assumed ownership of the paper. The territorial capital was relocated to Salem later that year, so by 1853 the printing operation was transferred to Salem. When the territorial capital was relocated to Corvallis in 1855, the printing process also moved there, but that decision was quickly reversed and the capital reverted to Salem. The printing operation also relocated to Salem in the late fall of 1855.
The paper was used as a mouthpiece of the Democratic Party and of the Salem Clique that ran the party in Salem. Bush vividly criticized rival editors and political figures. Bush and Oregonian editor Thomas J. Dryer are recognized as fomenting a virulent editorial rivalry.
As warclouds gathered over the young nation, the Democratic Party generally favored the South and Secession. Bush, however, sided with the Union cause, and this rift considerably weakened the paper's relevance in territorial politics. As a result, Bush left the paper in 1863 and entered the banking field. The paper was renamed ''Salem Statesman'', and lost much of its partisan slant. It ceased publication in 1866, but resumed in 1869 under the guidance of editor
Samuel Asahel Clarke
Samuel Asahel Clarke from the frontispiece of his 1905 book ''Pioneer Days in Oregon''.
Samuel Asahel Clarke (March 7, 1827 – August 20, 1909) (more commonly known as S. A. Clarke) was a poet and an early journalist of the U.S. state of Oregon. ...
and titled ''The Statesman and Unionist''. The 'Unionist' was soon dropped from the title, and Clarke sold the paper in 1872. For 18 months in 1883–84, 50% of the newspaper was owned by William H. Byars, the former publisher of the Roseburg '' Plaindealer'' (1873–83) who was nominated as State Printer in late 1882 and elected in 1883. In 1884 R. J. Hendricks became the paper's manager and editor, positions he held for 44 years. Ownership passed to Jasper Wilkins and Alonzo Gesner, with Gesner selling out his part within a year. In 1929 the paper was sold to Charles A. Sprague (two-thirds interest) and Sheldon Sackett (one-third interest). Sprague had previously published newspapers in Ritzville, Washington and in Corvallis.
Sprague ran for Oregon Governor in 1938, and held that post for one term, leaving the paper in the hands of editor Ralph Curtis and business manager Wendell Wilmarth. When he lost his re-election bid and returned to the paper's helm in 1953, he worked to make it more directly competitive with the city's afternoon newspaper, the Capital-Journal. By 1953 the two papers agreed to share business and production plants while maintaining editorial independence. Sprague died in 1969, leaving his son Wallace to manage the paper from his New York City home.
''Capital Journal''
Will H. Parry established the ''Capital Journal'' in 1888, with its first issue dated March 1. It was launched as a for-profit venture and an outlet for the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
. By the end of the year, Parry sold the ''Journal'' to William H. Byars (who also was elected that year as Salem's City Surveyor), one of many ownership changes in subsequent years. (In 1890, Byars was appointed by Pres.
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
as U.S. Surveyor General for Oregon.)
Around 1918, George Putnam purchased the ''Capital Journal'' and served as editor for 30 years before selling to
Bernard Mainwaring
Bernard Mainwaring (1897-1963) was a British film director.
Selected filmography
* ''The Crimson Candle'' (1934)
* ''Whispering Tongues'' (1934)
* '' Line Engaged'' (1935)
* ''Old Roses'' (1935)
* '' The Public Life of Henry the Ninth'' (1935)
* ' ...
in 1953. Meanwhile, Charles A. Sprague, who went on to become governor of Oregon, bought the ''Statesman'' in 1929. By the 1950s the two editors had agreed that their respective papers should cooperate closely. The ''Journal'' moved into the ''Statesmans new facility and the two papers began sharing printing facilities while keeping independent writers and editors.
1973 sale and merger
In 1973, both papers were sold to national publisher
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
''. In 1980, they were combined to form the ''Statesman Journal''. Dating to the ''Statesman's'' inception, it is the second-oldest Oregon newspaper. The paper won ten first-place awards in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest in 2001, the most in its division. In the 2006 contest, the paper took first place in its division for overall excellence, best editorial page, and best editorial.
Details
The newspaper primarily covers news in the Salem-Keizer metropolitan area in the middle section of the
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...
. Coverage includes state politics, Salem area news, area sports, business news, and lifestyle news. Circulation is focused on Marion and
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
* Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missour ...
counties with a market size of 410,000 residents, with some additional circulation in neighboring Linn, Lincoln, Yamhill, and Benton counties. In 2008 The ''Statesman Journal'' had circulation of 46,826 from Monday through Saturday, and 53,367 Sunday. By 2018, the average daily circulation had declined to 27,859 Monday-Tuesday, Thursday and 33,815 Wednesday, with a Sunday readership of 36,323. The newspaper also publishes '' The Stayton Mail'' of Stayton and the '' Appeal Tribune'' of Silverton.
