''The Skanner'' or ''The Skanner News'' is an

African-American newspaper African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

covering the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

of the United States. Its head office is in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, with an additional office in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. It discontinued its regular print publication in 2020. The major state newspaper, ''

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 ...

'', has published items from ''The Skanner'' on its website Oregon Live.

History

Bernard Foster started the paper in 1975. He became part-owner of the ''Northwest Dispatch'' in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

in 1985, and launched a Seattle edition of the ''Skanner'' in 1996. Owners Bernie Foster and Bobbie Doré Foster founded the paper after being inspired by the teachings of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

Foster served as secretary of the West Coast Black Publishers Association as early as 1983. In 1992, Foster, then president of the organization, announced a deal with

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...

to spend $220,000 on advertising in 20 Black papers in the west. In 1989, ''The Skanner'' began campaigning for the renaming of Portland's Union Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard. The campaign was successful. In 1990, a fire destroyed a warehouse owned by ''The Skanner'', causing $28,000 in damages. The cause was determined as arson. In 2009, the newspaper's owners installed security cameras on their head office in

North Portland North Portland is one of the six sextants of Portland, Oregon. North Portland is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. It includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, and massive cargo faci ...

, to monitor an adjacent hot spot of drug deals and shootings, and made sure loiterers knew they were being watched. When crime went down by 50 percent, cops credited the decline in part to the paper's vigilance. Since 2012, ''The Skanner'' has displayed a solar meter to chart the energy it is harnessing from the extensive banks of solar cells the owners had installed on the roof and awning of their North Killingsworth building. In early 2020, the media organization stopped publishing regular print editions, but has continued to publish online. In 2023, the newspaper sold its office building in Humboldt, Portland.

References

External links

Baltimore News article, business section
Retrieved 2014-06-30
TheSkanner.com
daily news, Retrieved 2014-04-19 {{DEFAULTSORT:Skanner 1975 establishments in Oregon African-American history in Portland, Oregon African-American history in Seattle African-American newspapers of Oregon Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Newspapers published in Washington (state) Newspapers established in 1975 Weekly newspapers published in the United States African-American history of Oregon