East Oregonian

U.S. local/regional, community-focused; conservative-leaning region

Background

The East Oregonian was founded on October 16, 1875 by M.P. Bull as a weekly Democratic newspaper in Pendleton, Oregon, then a frontier town of roughly 250 people. Ownership changed several times in its early decades — most notably when Charles Samuel Jackson bought it in 1882 for $3,500 and launched a daily edition in 1888 — before Edwin B. Aldrich became a stockholder in 1908 and established what would become four generations of family stewardship. The company operated as the East Oregonian Publishing Company and rebranded as EO Media Group in January 2013, expanding to dozens of community newspapers and magazines across Oregon and Washington. On November 1, 2024, the Aldrich-Forrester family sold EO Media Group to Carpenter Media Group, a Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based chain that has rapidly grown to become one of the largest newspaper chains in North America. Carpenter Media has drawn scrutiny: a 2026 Columbia Journalism Review investigation found that after a Republican state legislator complained about a reporter's coverage of a Charlie Kirk memorial event in Homer, Alaska, Carpenter Media removed and silently altered the article without notifying the reporter, prompting mass resignations. The NewsGuild has also criticized the company for widespread layoffs that critics say prioritize profit over journalism. The East Oregonian itself serves a conservative rural region, and while its news coverage tends toward local community affairs, its opinion and 'Other Views' sections have published pieces critical of Trump administration tariff impacts on Eastern Oregon farmers and federal funding cuts.

Sources

1. East Oregonian – Wikipedia
2. EO Media Group – Wikipedia
3. Pendleton East Oregonian – Historic Oregon Newspapers (UO)
4. Carpenter Media Group to Acquire EO Media Group – Carpenter Media Group
5. An Eastern Oregon media company is being sold to Carpenter Media Group – OPB
6. Carpenter Media's Ominous Takeover of Local News – Columbia Journalism Review
7. Other Views: Trump's tariffs hurt Eastern Oregon farmers – East Oregonian
8. Other Views: Trump administration's moves threaten Oregonians' financial stability – East Oregonian
9. Local family-owned EO Media Group sells to Carpenter Media Group – KOIN

Profile compiled 2026-07-18; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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