Evening Telegram (Portland, Oregon)
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The ''Portland'' ''Telegram'' was a daily newspaper serving
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
in the U.S. state of
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
from 1877 until it was acquired by, and merged into, the Scripps-owned ''Portland'' ''News'' in 1931. The ''News'' had started out as the ''East Side News'' under secretive circumstances in 1906. The ''Telegram'' was a Democratic paper, despite its founder being a staunch Republican. The ''Portland News-Telegram'' ceased in 1939 due competition from ''
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 West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
.''


History

The ''Telegram'' was founded in 1877 by
Henry Pittock Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 (some sources cite 1836) – January 28, 1919) was an England, English-born American American pioneers, pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican Party (U.S.) ...
, who had founded ''
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 West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'' 16 years prior. His ownership connected the ''Telegram'' to the ''Oregonian''; while the ''Oregonian'' was a solidly Republican paper, the ''Telegram'' tended Democratic, in order to keep competitors out of the field. It is said to have dominated the afternoon news field in Portland until the advent of the ''
Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portla ...
'' in 1902. Beginning in the 1850s and '60s, Oregon journalism was characterized by bitter editorial attacks among competing newspaper publishers, a condition referred to as the "Oregon style" of journalism. A. C. McDonald, one of the owners of the Telegram Publishing Company, was killed in a duel with James K. Mercer, assistant editor of the ''
Portland Bee The ''Portland Bee'' was a Oregon Republican Party, Republican newspaper in Portland, Oregon, Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon in the late 19th century. It was launched in November 1875, the same year as the ''Portland Daily Bulletin'' disinc ...
'', over an editorial dispute in 1878. The paper had a high degree of turnover in its leadership in its first decade. One consistent presence was Catherine Amanda Coburn, sister of Harvey W. Scott and
Abigail Scott Duniway Abigail Jane Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 – October 11, 1915) was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining Women's suffrage in the United States, voting rights for women in ...
, who ran the editorial page from 1883 to 1888, when she left for the ''Oregonian''. Richard D. Cannon arrived as editor in 1888, and was credited with improving society and sports coverage. He left the paper in the early 1890s, but returned in 1904. Other editors included J. B. Fithian and S. A. Moreland. The radical journalist Eleanor Baldwin wrote for the paper between 1906 and 1909, in her daily columns for the editorial page called “A Woman’s Point of View." Lumbermen John E. and L. R. Wheeler bought the paper in 1914; and the
Telegram Building The Telegram Building is a historic building in Portland, Oregon. It was constructed in 1922, several years after ''The Evening Telegram'' newspaper had been purchased by John E. and L. R. Wheeler. The ''Telegram'' was a newspaper founded in 1877 ...
, now a historic landmark in Portland, was built during their tenure. Several unpopular campaigns, including one against the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
, brought the paper into bankruptcy. In 1922 an ''
East Oregonian 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. History M.P. Bull f ...
'' editorial accused the ''Telegram'' of opposing the interests of
Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost countie ...
and meddling, more than other Portland papers, in electoral politics. In May 1927, the ''Telegrams lawsuit against the ''Oregon Journal'' was dismissed. The suit aimed to prevent the sale of three comics to the ''Journal'' from the
Bell Syndicate The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler, was an American syndicate that distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strips to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York City at 247 West 4 ...
, with the ''Telegram'' arguing it violated its contract with the syndicate. In March 1927, a judged approved a petition by the ''Telegram's'' creditors to force the paper into
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
. In April, the paper declared
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. During this time employees attempted to raise money to buy the ''Telegram''. However, the paper was sold to Portland attorney David E. Lofgren, one of the paper's principal
creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some propert ...
s, for $226,000, beating out a $200,000 bid from ''Portland News''. That year Carl H. Brockhagen, co-owner of the ''
The Sacramento Union ''The Sacramento Union'' was a daily newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi River before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with ' ...
'', was made president and publisher of the ''Telegram''. Brockhagen managed the paper until the 1931 merger with the ''News''. According to Oregon newspaper historian George Turnbull, following the merger, the character of the consolidated paper reflected the ''News'' more than the ''Telegram'', though the ''Telegram'' provided "a number of valuable staff members."


''Portland News-Telegram''

The ''East Side News'' was a newspaper founded in Portland on September 35, 1906. It was financed by the Scripps-Canfield publishing house of Seattle, but in complete secrecy, due to a promise E. W. Scripps had made to Sam Jackson of the ''
Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portla ...
'', not to compete in the Portland market. In spite of low circulation in its early days, the ''News'' constructed a building on Clay St. at a cost of $50,000. In 1931 the ''Portland'' ''News'' purchased the ''Portland Telegram'' from C. H. Brockhagen, and merged the two papers to form the ''News-Telegram''. On August 21, 1939, the paper ceased, citing rising costs and heavy taxes. Its circulation records were sold to the ''Oregon Journal'' who made arrangements to start publishing the defunct paper's features and comics, including columns from Boake Carter and
John Franklin Carter John Franklin Carter a.k.a. Jay Franklin a.k.a. Diplomat a.k.a. Unofficial Observer (1897–1967) was an American journalist, columnist, biographer and novelist. He notably wrote the syndicated column, "We the People", under his pen name Jay ...
. The ''
Medford Mail Tribune The ''Mail Tribune'' was a seven-day daily newspaper based in Medford, Oregon, United States that served Jackson County, Oregon, and adjacent areas of Josephine County, Oregon and northern California. The paper ceased operations on January 13, 2 ...
'' called the ''News-Telegram'' its "favorite morning paper on the coast" and blamed the papers demise on a "decline of the editorial vigor and excellence."


References


External links


"Research with historical Portland newspapers, beyond the Oregonian"
– Multnomah County Library * {{authority control Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Defunct newspapers published in Oregon Daily newspapers published in the United States 1877 establishments in Oregon Newspapers established in 1877