The amount of reporting produced in Oregon has been declining for decades
By Tony Schick (OPB) and Ryan Haas (OPB)
The amount of reporting produced in Oregon has been declining for decades — a fact that is likely unsurprising to Oregonians who have seen their newspapers thin and local coverage shrink. It’s a trend that has been playing out across the country as the business of producing journalism has faltered alongside the rise of the internet.
OPB has collected data to document the current state of media in Oregon, and where Oregonians are finding it more difficult to locate reliable information and reporting that holds powerful people accountable.
Above is one chart and below are three more charts that highlight the stark declines that have taken place in the past two decades.
The newspaper industry used to be the primary source of local journalism in Oregon. The chart at top shows a rapid decline in the number of people employed by newspapers since 2000. A similar trend has been playing out across the country.
Sales this year of large Oregon-owned newspaper chains Pamplin Media Group and EO Media Group have resulted in more layoffs, and fewer people gathering information for their communities. In Eastern Oregon, most counties only have a single news source. Wallowa and Union counties have a single reporter each. Some counties have none, as this next chart shows.
Though areas in western Oregon have far more media outlets compared to Eastern Oregon, the most-populous counties in the state are likely receiving less coverage than is needed. This next chart shows the number of journalists working per capita, highlighting how few reporters are working to inform millions of people.
Map: Ryan Haas and Tony Schick, OPB. Source: Oregon Employment Department, U.S. Census Bureau
Fewer reporters covering their communities
Northwest Oregon has the fewest reporters compared to the number of people who live there. In Eastern Oregon, the number of reporters is more proportional to the population, but they face challenges covering a large geographic region with few people.
The result of years of consolidation and sales of local news outlets has meant that fewer companies operating out of the Pacific Northwest hold a stake in the stories produced here. In 2024, Carpenter Media Group became the single largest newspaper owner in Oregon by purchasing the Pamplin and EO Media papers. Carpenter’s entry into the Oregon media market has dramatically driven up the number of outlets owned by out-of-state interests. Nearly half of news outlets in Oregon are owned by companies based in other states. Find out who owns your local media with this chart.
Tony Schick is an investigative editor and reporter at OPB. Ryan Haas has been with Oregon Public Broadcasting since 2013. This story was first published at OPB.
