The Hillsboro Argus

''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First published in 1894, but later merged with the older, 1873-introduced ''Forest Grove Independent'', the paper was owned by the McKinney family for more than 90 years prior to being sold to Advance Publications in 1999. The ''Argus'' was published weekly until 1953, then twice-weekly from 1953 until 2015. In early 2017, it was reported that the paper was planning to cease publication in March 2017. The final edition was that of March 29, 2017.

History

The ''Argus'' newspaper traced its history back to 1873. In 1873, the ''Forest Grove Independent'' newspaper was founded as the first newspaper in Washington County, Oregon. By December the paper had moved to Hillsboro and named itself the ''Washington Independent''. Albert E. Tozier owned the paper with a partner from 1885 to 1887. Daniel Gault owned the ''Independent'' from 1892 to 1902.

In March 1894, R. H. Mitchell and C. W. Clow founded a new paper in Hillsboro, the ''Argus''. On March 28, 1894, the first ''Hillsboro Argus'' was printed which included a front page advertisement for Hillsboro lawyer and later Congressman Thomas H. Tongue.Communications (100th anniversary of Hillsboro edition). ''Hillsboro Argus'', October 19, 1976. Other news of the day concerned a battle over the county seat of Lincoln County, Oregon. At that time it was a weekly paper of only six pages and was located on Second Street between Main and Washington streets.

In the early years of the ''Argus'', ownership changed hands often, with Mrs. Emma C. McKinney acquiring a half interest in the newspaper in 1904. McKinney’s son W. Verne McKinney would join the paper in 1923. In November of that year, the size of the paper began to grow beyond the six pages that had included two pages of wire-report news known as boilerplate. Next, in January 1932, the ''Argus'' purchased the ''Independent'' from S.C. Killen and merged the two papers. The ''Argus'' won accolades from the National Editorial Association in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, and 1939 for various topics ranging from production to general excellence to editorials. In 1940, it was selected as the best weekly newspaper in the United States for its size by the National Editorial Association.

The ''Argus'' remained as a weekly publication until November 1, 1953, when it became a twice-weekly newspaper. From 1917 to 1955 the paper was located on Main Street in Hillsboro between Second and Third streets. In 1955, it moved to a building it bought on Third Street between Main and Washington. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association awarded the paper the award for best sports coverage in 1988. In 1989, it was selected as the best non-daily newspaper in the United States for papers with a circulation in excess of 10,000 by the National Newspaper Association.

In October 1999, the ''Argus'' was sold by the McKinney family to Advance Publications, Inc. after the family had held ownership interests in the paper since 1904 and had been sole owners since 1909. Advance also owns the region's daily newspaper, ''The Oregonian''. Until 2012, the two papers' operations were completely separate, and the papers competed for stories and advertising revenue, but in January 2012 ''The Oregonian'' took over the management of the ''Argus''.

As of 2003 the paper had a total weekly circulation of 15,000 copies. In 2007, the paper won first place from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association for best use of a small space for an advertisement and second place for best black-and-white ad.

The newspaper's staff also compiled the ''Hillsboro Argus Courier-Mail''. This newspaper was mailed for free to 41,000 homes across Washington County on Tuesdays and contained partial articles from the prior week's editions of the paid edition of the ''Argus''.

In 2012, the paper's parent company integrated the ''Argus'' operations into ''The Oregonian'' operations, which in 2014 was followed by the sale of the ''Argus'' longtime home on Third Avenue in downtown Hillsboro. The paper's staff moved out of the building in August 2014. At the time of the move, the paper was published on Wednesdays and Fridays.

At the end of August 2015, the Friday edition was discontinued, with publication continuing only weekly, on Wednesdays. In December 2015 it was announced the paper would be combined with the ''Beaverton Leader'' and the ''Forest Grove Leader'' to form the ''Washington County Argus''. The last edition published under the ''Hillsboro Argus'' name was that of January 6, 2016.

In early 2017, the ''Hillsboro Tribune'' reported that the ''Washington County Argus'' was due to cease publication in March, with the final issue expected to be that of March 29, 2017. The paper was discontinued as expected, on March 29, 2017, with the final edition being Volume 123, No. 52.

Editors

L.A. Long, father of judge Donald E. Long, was editor of the newspaper from 1894 to 1907 and again from 1909 to 1923. Long-time editors Emma McKinney and W. Verne McKinney were both inducted into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1981. In 2002, Walter McKinney was also inducted to the hall of fame. The National Newspaper Association presents an annual award, the Emma C. McKinney Memorial Award, honoring her 58 years of work in the newspaper business and her place as dean of Oregon newspaper people.Amos & McKinney Award.
National Newspaper Association. Retrieved on February 29, 2008.

Former Chicago-area sports columnist Gary Stutzman was the Managing Editor from 2002 to January 2012.

In January 2012, Tom Maurer was named Editor. Maurer was also Washington County Editor of ''The Oregonian''.

Coverage

The ''Hillsboro Argus'' covered Hillsboro and some surrounding areas, including North Plains, Cornelius, and Aloha. The paper's staff covered sports, politics, business, and local events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillsboro Argus, The
1873 establishments in Oregon
2017 disestablishments in Oregon
Advance Publications
Hillsboro, Oregon
Defunct newspapers published in Oregon
Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
The Oregonian
Publications established in 1873
Publications disestablished in 2017