EO Media Group, which owns local daily newspapers such as The Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman announced on June 3 that it will experience changes across the company, including layoffs and reductions in print frequency at several newspapers.
EO Media Group, which operates 12 newspapers across Oregon and Washington, stated that advertising revenues have dropped while operating expenses have risen, forcing the company to make changes to stabilize its operations.
"As a family and owners of EO Media Group, we are committed to the continuity of our publications within the communities we have served for over a century," Steve Forrester and Kathryn Brown, majority owners of EO Media Group, said in a statement.
According to Heidi Wright, the chief operating officer for EO Media Group, the company has been seeing higher production costs in the last few years. Recently, the company has experienced significantly increased health care costs.
"That's been something that's happened just in this last year, where our health care expenses are up 215%," Wright told the Source Weekly. "No small company can absorb that very easily."
According to the announcement, the company retained a firm to evaluate all options for the company and are also considering the nonprofit model of newspaper publishing. "Our aim is to ensure that these publications continue to thrive and reflect the voices and stories of the communities they represent."
On June 3, 28 company employees were notified that they would be laid off and their jobs eliminated. Another 19 employees will have their hours reduced starting in July.
The frequency of three print publications, including The Bulletin, will also decrease on July 1. The Bulletin will combine its Saturday and Sunday print edition, which will be delivered in the Saturday mail. Digital offerings will be reduced as well. The Bulletin will drop from seven to five e-editions per week.
"We did not do this lightly," said Wright. "We did it in a way that we intend to protect as much of the effort that goes into producing the paper."
EO Media's unionized employees with the Central Oregon NewsGuild responded to the layoffs in a statement on social media platform X.
"The announcement comes on the heels of the company's decisions to implement a hiring freeze and outsource design staff. This process of cutting staff to create profitability waters down our efforts to produce news that benefits the communities we live and work in," read the statement.
"While the impact of these decisions are devastating, the reporters, photographers and news assistants who remain at The Bulletin and The Redmond Spokesman are more committed than ever to serving the Central Oregon community with fierce integrity and diligence."
Wright told the Source Weekly that the local newspapers have received a lot of support from the community since the announcement.
Pamplin Media Group, which owns several Oregon publications including the Portland Tribune, announced in a press release the sale of its company on the same day. Owner Dr. Robert B Pamplin Jr. sold the company to the Carpenter Media Group.
