Advertisement for the ''Evening Telegram'' in a national newspaper directory in 1894 The Portland ''Telegram'' was a daily newspaper serving

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

from 1877 until it was acquired by, and merged into, the Scripps-owned Portland ''News'' in 1931. The ''News'' had started out as the ''East Side News'' under secretive circumstances in 1906. The ''Telegram'' was a Democratic paper, despite its founder being a staunch

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

History

The ''Telegram'' was founded in 1877 by

Henry Pittock Henry Lewis Pittock (March 1, 1835 – January 28, 1919) was an English-born American pioneer, publisher, newspaper editor, and wood and paper magnate. He was active in Republican politics and Portland, Oregon civic affairs, a Freemason and an a ...

, who had founded ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' 16 years prior. His ownership connected the ''Telegram'' to the ''Oregonian''; while the ''Oregonian'' was a solidly

paper, the ''Telegram'' tended Democratic, in order to keep competitors out of the field. It is said to have dominated the afternoon news field in Portland until the advent of the ''

Oregon Journal ''The Oregon Journal'' was Portland, Oregon's daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982. The ''Journal'' was founded in Portland by C. S. "Sam" Jackson, publisher of Pendleton, Oregon's ''East Oregonian'' newspaper, after a group of Portlander ...

'' in 1902. Beginning in the 1850s and '60s, Oregon journalism was characterized by bitter editorial attacks among competing newspaper publishers, a condition referred to as the "Oregon style" of journalism. A. C. McDonald, one of the owners of the Telegram Publishing Company, was killed in a duel with James K. Mercer, assistant editor of the ''

Portland Bee The ''Portland Bee'' was a Republican newspaper in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon in the late 19th century. It was launched in November 1875, the same year as the '' Portland Daily Bulletin'' disincorporated; like the ''Bulletin'', it had bo ...

'', over an editorial dispute in 1878. The paper had a high degree of turnover in its leadership in its first decade. One consistent presence was

Catherine Amanda Coburn Catherine Amanda Coburn (, Scott; November 30, 1839 – May 27, 1913) was an American pioneer of the long nineteenth century associated with the Oregon Territory. Entering the workforce after the untimely death of her husband, she became a teache ...

, sister of Harvey W. Scott and Abigail Scott Duniway, who ran the editorial page from 1883 to 1888, when she left for the ''Oregonian''. Richard D. Cannon arrived as editor in 1888, and was credited with improving society and sports coverage. He left the paper in the early 1890s, but returned in 1904. Other editors included J. B. Fithian and S. A. Moreland. Lumbermen John E. and L. R. Wheeler bought the paper in 1914; the

Telegram Building The Telegram Building is a historic building in Portland, Oregon. It was constructed in 1922, several years after ''The Evening Telegram'' newspaper had been purchased by John E. and L. R. Wheeler. The ''Telegram'' was a newspaper founded in 1877 ...

, now a historic landmark, was built during their tenure. Several unpopular campaigns, including one against the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, brought the paper into bankruptcy. In 1922 an ''

East Oregonian The ''East Oregonian'' (''EO'') is a daily newspaper published in Pendleton, Oregon, United States and covering Umatilla and Morrow counties. The ''EO'' was the first-place winner of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association General Excellence ...

'' editorial accused the ''Telegram'' of opposing the interests of

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

and meddling, more than other Portland papers, in electoral politics. C. H. Brockhagen bought the paper, and was the publisher from 1927 until the 1931 merger with the ''News''. According to Oregon newspaper historian George Turnbull, following the merger, the character of the consolidated paper reflected the ''News'' more than the ''Telegram'', though the ''Telegram'' provided "a number of valuable staff members."

References

External links

"Research with historical Portland newspapers, beyond the Oregonian"
– Multnomah County Library {{authority control Newspapers published in Portland, Oregon Defunct newspapers published in Oregon Daily newspapers published in the United States 1877 establishments in Oregon Publications established in 1877