Type Daily newspaper Owner(s) Gannett Company Editor Michael Davis | Format Broadsheet Publisher Steve Silberman | |
Founded 1851
(as the Oregon Statesman) | ||
The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman 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 much of the mid-Willamette Valley. The average daily circulation is 36,629 Monday-Friday, 118,168 Saturday, with Sunday readership of 124,059.
Contents
Oregon Statesman
The Oregon Statesman was founded on March 28, 1851, by Asahel Bush, a Democrat, in response to the Whig-controlled Portland-based paper, The Oregonian. Congressional delegate Samuel Thurston assisted Bush in starting the newspaper while Thurston was in Washington, D.C. Printed using a hand press, the paper was originally based in Oregon City, but moved to Salem in June 1853 when the Oregon State Capitol was relocated to that city. The paper was used as a mouthpiece of the Democratic Party and of the Salem Clique that ran the party in Salem.
In March 1863, Bush sold the paper and entered the banking field. The name of the paper was changed to the Salem Statesman and became less of a partisan newspaper. In 1866, the Statesman ceased publication, only to resume in 1869 under the guidance of editor Samuel A. Clarke and under the new moniker of The Statesman and Unionist. The Unionist portion was removed from the name within a short amount of time, and in 1884 R. J. Hendricks became the paper's manager and editor, positions he held for 44 years. Also in 1884, ownership passed to Jasper Wilkins and Alonzo Gesner, with Gesner selling out his part within a year.
Capital Journal
Will H. Parry established the Capital Journal on March 1, 1888, initially as a for-profit venture and an outlet for the Republican Party. Parry sold the Journal by the end of the year, one of many ownership changes in subsequent years.
Around 1918, George Putnam purchased the Capital Journal and served as editor for 30 years before selling to Bernard Mainwaring in 1953. Meanwhile, Charles A. Sprague, who went on to become governor of Oregon, bought the Statesman in 1929. In 1954, Mainwaring and Sprague agreed that their respective papers should cooperate closely. The Journal moved into the Statesman's 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, the company that publishes USA Today. 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. In July 2008, Steve Silberman was named the publisher of the newspaper.
Details
The newspaper primarily covers news in the Salem-Keizer metropolitan area in the middle section of the Willamette Valley. Coverage includes state politics, Salem area news, area sports, business news, and lifestyle news. Circulation is focused on Marion and Polk counties with a market size of 323,3000 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. In 2010, average daily circulation had declined to 38,099 Monday-Friday and 37,602 Saturday, with Sunday readership of 46,745. The newspaper also publishes the The Stayton Mail of Stayton and the Appeal Tribune of Silverton.