Salem Reporter is a digital news service based in Salem, Oregon. It was launched in September 2018 by longtime investigative journalist Les Zaitz, with investment from businessman Larry Tokarski, president of a real estate development firm.
Its primary revenue source is from reader subscriptions, which cost $10/month.
The site aims to distinguish itself from its competitors with the quality and credibility of its reporting.
According to local news scholar Damian Radcliffe, the ''Reporter's'' freedom from the legacy costs that a traditional newspaper like the ''
Statesman Journal
The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...
'' has allowed it to enter the field with unusual agility.
Shortly after its launch, the ''Salem Reporter'' joined the
Pamplin Media Group
The Pamplin Media Group (PMG) is a media conglomerate owned by Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. and operating primarily in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of 2019, the company owns 25 newspapers and employs 200 people.
His ...
and the
EO Media Group
The EO Media Group is a newspaper publishing company based in the U.S. state of Oregon. It publishes 17 newspapers in the state and in southwestern Washington.
History
The company, which has been family-owned for four generations, was previous ...
in a partnership named the
Oregon Capital Bureau The Oregon Capital Bureau is a joint effort of two family-owned news publishers to improve news coverage of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon.
The bureau was launched in 2014 by the Pamplin Media Group, which owns 25 newspapers in the Port ...
.
The bureau was formed by the original partners 2014, to provide its constituent newspapers with reporting on state government; it produces a newsletter called the ''Oregon Capital Insider''. Zaitz leads the bureau's team of three reporters.
Zaitz, a renowned investigative reporter for ''
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 ...
'' who, upon his retirement, bought and revitalized the ''
Malheur Enterprise
The ''Malheur Enterprise'' is a weekly newspaper in Vale, Oregon. It was established in 1909, and since October 2015 has been published by Malheur Enterprise Pub. Co.https://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/37/8646/23998 It is issued weekly on Wed ...
'' several years prior, is motivated by a desire to create "a new financial paradigm for the newspaper that can be replicated and scaled up."
In speeches in 2018, Zaitz has emphasized restoring trust in media as a top priority for the journalism industry.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official web site
Newspapers published in Oregon
Salem, Oregon
2018 establishments in Oregon