The Register-Guard

• 1. Founding And Early Politics

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  John B. Alexander launched The Guard in Eugene City on Saturday, the 1st of June 1867. This weekly organ expressed allegiance to the states' rights-oriented Democratic Party during a time when Oregon politics were shifting toward the Republican Party. Alexander had come to Oregon from Illinois as a pioneer in 1852 and initially worked as a farmer before learning the printing trade. His paper vocally supported the old governing class of the former Confederate States of America and opposed Reconstruction era policies imposed by Northern-based Republicans. Such views were out of step with the majority of Oregonians, leading Alexander to liquidate his stake in the money-losing newspaper in 1868.

• 2. Ownership Transitions And Family Dynasty

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  A short interregnum followed Alexander's departure, during which ownership transferred to J.W. Skaggs for just five weeks. Skaggs gave away the paper to two printers, William Thompson and William Victor, tossing in two bundles of paper and two cords of firewood to sweeten the transfer. Thompson earned a healthy $1,200 for his work before selling the paper to George J. Buys and A. Eltzroth on the 24th of December 1869. Buys remained solely at the publisher's desk for more than seven years after buying out his partner in July 1870. The Baker family eventually took control in 1927 when Alton F. Baker Sr. purchased the Guard, beginning an 88-year span where someone from the family headed the paper until May 2015.

• 3. Mergers And Format Evolution

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  The Eugene Daily Guard merged with the Morning Register on the 17th of November 1930, creating what would become known as The Register-Guard. Reporter William Tugman was recruited from The Plain Dealer to be the managing editor of the new paper. In August 1996, a photographer and reporter were arrested by the United States Forest Service for trespassing at a timber protest site in a national forest. The newspaper sued the Forest Service for violating First Amendment freedom of the press, though criminal charges were later dropped and the civil suit settled out of court. In 2003, the newspaper reduced printing width to cut costs, then shrank further to another smaller dimension in 2009.

• 4. Legal Conflicts And Civil Rights

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  In April 2000, company negotiations with employee unions banned use of the email system during contract talks. This led to an unfair labor practice charge against the newspaper, with the National Labor Relations Board ruling for the paper in December 2007 that employers can ban pro-union emails from company systems. The NLRB reconsidered this decision on the 26th of June 2011, ultimately agreeing that the paper violated union members' rights. On the 27th of December 2014, the NLRB overturned the 2007 ruling with Purple Communications, Inc., giving union members the right to send union emails during non-work time. Meanwhile, since the 17th of June 2008, access to the Register-Guard website has been blocked in Turkey due to its domain name being linked to a phishing scam.

• 5. Corporate Consolidation And Staff Cuts

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  The Register-Guard announced its sale to GateHouse Media in January 2018, with ownership officially transferring on March 1 of that year. One of the first actions was closing the statehouse bureau and replacing publisher Logan Molen with GateHouse hire Shanna Cannon. In November 2019, GateHouse Media purchased Gannett, retaining the Gannett name for the merged operation. By May 2023, newsroom staff had shrunk from over eighty employees to just six people including only two reporters. The paper no longer employed a local editor, publisher, or advertising representatives, with all decisions now made by Salem's Statesman-Journal staff. In March 2022, the newspaper moved to a six-day printing schedule, eliminating its printed Saturday edition.

• 6. Journalistic Recognition And Awards

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  The paper won a tie for best feature photo in 1997 from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. In 1998, it took first place for science reporting from the Pacific Northwest Society of Professional Journalists competition. The Register-Guard claimed first place again in 2001 for best arts coverage within the same competition. In 1999, the newspaper was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Spot News Photography covering community reactions to shootings at Springfield's Thurston High School by student Kip Kinkel. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association awarded the paper its 2010 General Excellence Award and Best Overall Website award, recognizing continued journalistic excellence despite changing industry conditions.