EO Media Group has 15 publications around the Pacific Northwest, including the Bend Bulletin. The new print and online outlet will be called The Tribune. The Medford Mail Tribune abruptly closed in mid-January.
鈥淭his looked like an opportunity from the standpoint of a business opportunity that we can build a sustainable model there and also serve the community with journalism,鈥� said Heidi Wright, COO and publisher of EO Media Group.
According to Wright, they plan to hire a newsroom of 14 people, including seven reporters. While they plan to eventually have a three day per week print edition, the paper will begin online only, according to Bend Bulletin Editor Gerry O鈥橞rien.
鈥淓O Media Group, being an Oregon-based media group, saw this as a prime opportunity to alleviate what they call the news deserts that are happening around the state. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e going into this with both feet,鈥� said O鈥橞rien. 鈥淚 think you鈥檒l see us try to expand into other news deserts, as they say 鈥� small town operations that don鈥檛 have a website or reporters.鈥�
The Medford Mail Tribune was the largest newspaper serving the Rogue Valley. Since it closed, another independent newspaper, the Grants Pass Daily Courier, has also said it will expand into Medford. It has hired several former Mail Tribune reporters.
EO Media Group has also been in talks with Ashland-based online news site Ashland.news about sharing content. According to O鈥橞rien, their partnership will allow Ashland.news to be printed once per week.
EO Media Group purchased the Bend Bulletin in 2019 after its parent company, Western Communications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
鈥淭he likelihood was that it would be taken over by one of these venture capital-backed organizations that would strip out all the local reporters, start running wire service stories and turn it into the USA Today of Bend,鈥� said Louis Capozzi, a Bend resident.
Capozzi and four other Bend residents helped raise $1 million for EO Media Group to outbid competitors and purchase the Bulletin. After that, he said, Wright and O鈥橞rien helped turn the paper around.
鈥淭hey got it financially stable, they got the editorial content to be way better, they had a much more balanced editorial policy and the news side got stronger and more relevant to our community, so it was a terrific win,鈥� Capozzi said.
Capozzi is also a board member of the nonprofit Fund for Oregon Rural Journalism, which he said was started after the Bulletin was purchased to develop priorities for how to strengthen struggling rural newspapers across Oregon, including talent development, monetization, and ways to keep publications relevant.
According to Wright, creating a startup news organization in Medford will be funded by their company and through advertising support.
鈥淔rom what I鈥檝e observed and have communicated with a number of people, I think we will have the support we need to build a sustainable business model,鈥� she said.
