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Mail Tribune
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Rosebud Media LLC
PublisherSteven Saslow (2017–2023)[1]
EditorDavid Smigelski
FoundedApril 2, 1907
Political alignmentCenter
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publicationJanuary 13, 2023
Headquarters111 North Fir Street, Medford, Oregon 97501 United States
Circulation17,138 weekday, 20,505 Sunday (need citation)
Websitemailtribune.com

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, 2023. The closure was announced by Rosebud Media, the paper's owner, two days prior.[2][3]

Its coverage area centered on Medford and Ashland and included many small communities in Jackson County. The newspaper also covered Central Point, Talent, Eagle Point, Grants Pass and Phoenix, as well as Jacksonville and other cities in the Rogue Valley.

History

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George Putnam bought the Medford Tribune and two smaller weekly newspapers on April 2, 1907. In 1910, he purchased the Medford Mail and combined it with the Tribune to create the Mail Tribune.[4] He later sold the paper in order to purchase the Salem Capital Journal.[4]

The Mail Tribune was awarded the 1934 Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Service, for its coverage of corrupt Jackson County politicians.[5][6]

Ottaway Newspapers, the predecessor of Local Media Group purchased the Medford paper in 1973, and also owned the nearby Ashland Daily Tidings.[7][8] The company was purchased by Dow Jones, owner of The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones was acquired by News Corp.owned by Rupert Murdoch

On September 4, 2013, News Corp announced that it would sell the Dow Jones Local Media Group to Newcastle Investment Corp., an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group for $87 million. The newspapers were to be operated by GateHouse Media, owned by Fortress.

News Corp. CEO and former Wall Street Journal editor Robert James Thomson indicated that the newspapers were "not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio" of the company.[9] GateHouse in turn filed prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 27, 2013, to restructure its debt obligations in order to accommodate the acquisition.[10]

The Mail Tribune and Ashland Daily Tidings were sold to Rosebud Media in 2017 for a reported $15 million.[11][12]

On September 21, 2022, the Mail Tribune announced it would discontinue its printed edition and only publish online.[13][14] The Mail Tribune published its final online articles on January 13, 2023, and ceased operations.[15][16]

Special sections

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The Mail Tribune had four special feature sections that ran regularly each week. Sunday's edition contained a Your Life section, with general lifestyle content. Wednesday contained the A La Carte section, which featured food articles. Friday was the Oregon Outdoors section, containing local and regional outdoors stories. Friday's edition also contained Tempo, a tabloid insert about local arts and entertainment.

Newsroom

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The Mail Tribune's North Fir Street newsroom included reporters, assigning editors, and multimedia staff, copy editing and page design, as well as a separate sports department.

References

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  1. ^ Stiles, Greg (June 6, 2017). "Mail Tribune is back in local hands". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  2. ^ Saslow, Steven (January 11, 2023). "Mail Tribune to cease operations Friday". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Bureau, GARY A. WARNER Oregon Capital. "Medford newspaper - state's fifth largest - suddenly shuts down". Oregon Capital Insider. Retrieved January 20, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ a b "George Putnam (1872-1961)". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Kay Atwood and Dennis J. Gray (2003; revised and updated 2014). Boom and Bust: Political Turmoil in the 1930s. The Oregon History Project. Oregon Historical Society.
  6. ^ LaLande, Jeff. "Robert Ruhl (1880-1967)". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  7. ^ "Changes at the helms" (editorial). The Bulletin (Bend, Oregon). July 13, 1973, p. 4.
  8. ^ Rafter, Michelle V. (January 31, 2009). "Good news for small papers". Oregon Business.
  9. ^ "News Corp. sells 33 papers to New York investors". New York Business Journal. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  10. ^ "GateHouse Files for Bankruptcy as Part of Fortress Plan". Bloomberg News. September 27, 2013.
  11. ^ Stiles, Greg (January 31, 2017). "Updated: Mail Tribune and Daily Tidings sold to Rosebud Media". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  12. ^ "New Media Completes the Acquisition of the Ohio Publishing Division of Wooster Republican Printing Company for $21.2 Million and Announces the Sale of the Medford, Oregon Mail Tribune for $15.0 Million" (Press release). January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018.
  13. ^ Aldous, Vickie (September 20, 2022). "Mail Tribune moving to online-only format". Mail Tribune. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  14. ^ "Oregon newspaper Mail Tribune in Medford will stop printing at end of month". OregonLive. The Associated Press. September 21, 2022. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  15. ^ Neumann, Erik (January 11, 2013). "Medford Mail Tribune announces it will close Friday". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  16. ^ "Oregon paper closing after more than century of publishing". KOIN. Associated Press. January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
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