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''The Astorian'', formerly known as ''The Daily Astorian'', is a
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, published in
Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...
, United States, established in 1873,Newspapers Published in Oregon
''
Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...
''. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
and in publication continuously since then. The paper serves the Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside area, the
Long Beach Peninsula The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land on the southern coast of the state of Washington in the United States. Entirely within Pacific County, it is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the south by the Columbia River, and the east by ...
, and surrounding areas. The newspaper is published three times each week and is owned by EO Media Group.


History

DeWitt Clinton "D.C." Ireland first published the ''Tri-Weekly Astorian'' on July 1, 1873. He was a newspaperman born back east who had previously worked at ''The Oregonian'' before launching the ''Oregon City Enterprise'', followed by the ''Astorian'' several years later. Clinton founded the paper at the request of a group of Astorian businessmen, and the first edition was a five-column, four-page paper. The print schedule was cut back from three to once a week after a few years due to the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
. Financial conditions improved and the first issue of ''The Daily Astorian'', printed five days a week, was published on May 1, 1876. The paper installed a steam engine to operate its press in January 1877. Ireland went on to be elected the town's mayor twice and served as
James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until his death in September that year after being shot two months earlier. A preacher, lawyer, and Civi ...
's private secretary at the
1880 Republican National Convention The 1880 Republican National Convention was held from June 2 to June 8, 1880, at the Interstate Exposition Building in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Delegates nominated James A. Garfield of Ohio and Chester A. Arthur of New York (state), N ...
. In 1881, Ireland sold the paper to John F. Halloran for $10,000 in gold. In August 1890, Halloran sold the ''Astorian'' to P. W. Parker. Around 1892, Samuel Elmore became the paper's majority stock owner. Elmore was a wealthy business man who owned steamship lines and
canneries Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...
. He often ran the paper at a loss. In February 1893, Parker bought out Elmore, becoming the paper's sole proprietor. He then retired that August after being connected to the paper for a dozen years and Elmore resumed control. In 1899, the paper was purchased by the Astorian Publishing Company, formed by John Adams, John T. Lighter and George Gray. In 1902, P. M. Maher assumed control of the paper from Elmore. In August 1903, Elmore sold the ''Morning Astorian'' to Walter Lyon and Otis Patterson. Lyon retired that October. Patterson's ''The Daily Morning Astorian'' merged with Robert Gibson's ''Daily Evening News'' in December 1903. The newly formed Franklin Printing Company published a combined evening edition under both mastheads, which proved unpopular. By the month's end Elmore resumed control of the ''Astorian,'' who then transferred ownership to John S. Dellinger. Dellinger previously ran the ''Bay City'' ''Tribune'' for two years before moving to Astoria to publish several papers in the area at various times including the ''Astoria Daily News, Nehalem Herald and Port Oregon Tribune'' of Warrenton. The paper's office was destroyed in the
1922 Astoria, Oregon fire At about 2 a.m. on December 8, 1922, a fire began which destroyed up to 30 blocks in central Astoria, Oregon. Approximately 2,500 residents lost their homes, with one death, and damages exceeded hundreds of millions of dollars. The fire is cons ...
. Dellinger published ''Astorian'' for nearly three decades until his death in 1930. At that time the paper was sold to the owners of the ''Astoria'' ''Budget,'' who merged the two papers to form the ''Evening Astorian''-''Budget.'' Part of the ownership group was E. B. Aldrich, owner the ''East Oregonian''. The name was changed to ''The Daily Astorian'' starting at the beginning of 1961. One of the paper's owners was E. B. Aldrich, an editor at the ''East Oregonian''. His family business became the East Oregonian Publishing Company, which merged with the Astorian-Budget Publishing Company in 1973. The company's name was later changed to EO Media Group. In February 2010, a new
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
was brought into use for the paper in Astoria, replacing one that had lasted since 1970. The new press was secondhand from the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', but was only five years old when acquired by the ''Daily Astorian''. In 2019, the paper dropped the word ''Daily'' from its name and decreased its print schedule from five to three days a week. In October 2024, EO Media Group was purchased by Carpenter Media Group. A month later the newspaper's building, which it had owned since 1970, was put up for sale. The print and packaging operations were moved to Carpenter's facility in
Lakewood, Washington Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 63,612 at the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city in the county, behind Tacoma, and is a suburban bedroom community. Lakewood is adjacent to Joint Base ...
.


In popular culture

In the 2005 film ''
The Ring Two ''The Ring Two'' is a 2005 American supernatural horror film and sequel to the 2002 film '' The Ring'', which was a remake of the 1998 Japanese film '' Ring''. Hideo Nakata, director of the original ''Ring'', directed this film in place of G ...
'', ''The Daily Astorian'' was the workplace of fictional investigative journalist
Rachel Keller Rachel Keller is a fictional character in ''The Ring'' film series. The character, created by writer-producer Ehren Kruger and portrayed by Naomi Watts, serves as the protagonist of ''The Ring'' and ''The Ring Two'', sharing similarities with ...
. In the film, the newspaper headquarters is shown located at Astoria 12th and Marine Dr.


References


External links


History of ''The Daily Astorian''
at East Oregonian Publishing Co. website
May 1, 1876 issue
of ''The Daily Astorian'', archived at ''
Chronicling America ''Chronicling America'' is an open access, open source newspaper database and companion website. It is produced by the United States National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the Library of Congress and the National Endowm ...
'' (Library of Congress) {{DEFAULTSORT:Astorian, The Astoria, Oregon 1873 establishments in Oregon Newspapers published in Oregon Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Newspapers established in 1873