Front of the East Oregonian in Pendleton, Ore. on July 31, 2022.
Bryce Dole / OPB
EO Media Group, which owns a dozen newspapers in mostly rural areas of Oregon and Southwest Washington, announced Wednesday it has been sold to Carpenter Media Group.
EO Media Group operates the Bulletin based in Bend, the Rogue Valley Times in Medford, the East Oregonian in Pendleton, and others. In an email sent to staff Wednesday and shared with OPB, EO Media’s vice president Kathryn Brown wrote that the Mississippi-based media firm will take over ownership on Nov. 1.
“It’s not that we don’t believe in the importance of local journalism, especially in rural communities — that remains our core value,” Brown wrote to employees. “It’s just that we have come to understand that due to the size of the company and so many other factors beyond our control, we are not in a situation that is financially sustainable.”
Brown wrote that Carpenter Media will be continuing EO’s publications and will hire all company employees, with the exception of some staff in the mailroom who have already been given notice.
Carpenter Media Group operates more than 160 publications, according to its website. In June, the firm bought Pamplin Media, parent company of the Portland Tribune and two dozen other Oregon publications. Terms of EO Media Group’s sale to Carpenter were not immediately available.
The news comes after EO Media laid off 28 of its 185 employees and consolidated some of its print publications in June.
The Central Oregon News Guild, the union representing EO Media journalists at The Bulletin in Bend, said it has been anticipating the sale for a few months.
“While we are disappointed The Bulletin is no longer locally owned, we are looking forward to meeting Carpenter Media at the negotiating table next month,” the union said in a statement. “We remain committed to making sure every reporter, photographer and news clerk at The Bulletin receives a living wage.”