Author's Entries

• Albany Democrat-Herald

  Newspapers on the western frontier were partisan and frequently flaunted their political affiliation. During the statehood era, Albany had two papers associated with the Democratic Party—the Oregon Democrat and the State Rights Democrat—and both carried its name on their nameplate. The Oregon Democrat, the first newspaper in Linn County, …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Alderman Farms

  As a twenty-four-year-old barrel maker from Michigan, Albert Alderman migrated to Oregon in 1846. A year later, he bought farmland five miles south of Dayton that would eventually become one of the nation’s largest row-crop farms. In the post-World War II era, Alderman Farms employed over 2,500 day laborers on …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Charles Sprague (1887-1969)

  Charles A. Sprague published and edited The Oregon Statesman for forty years. During that period, he was Oregon's leading statesman, serving as governor, alternate delegate to the United Nations, and, throughout the mid-20th century, speaking for the progressive wing of the Republican Party. Born in 1887 in Kansas, Sprague was …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Civil War, Newspaper Suppression

  Oregon's pioneer newspapers were also political organs, advancing their cause in news articles as well as editorials. The most prominent advocates were Asahel Bush of the Oregon Statesman (Salem) and T.J. Dryer of the Oregonian (Portland), Democrat and Whig, respectively. But as the nation entered the Civil War …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Eric W. Allen (1879-1944)

  In 1912, Eric W. Allen was lured from his position at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to create a journalism department at the University of Oregon. Four years later, the department graduated its first four baccalaureates. It was also named the School of Journalism, with Allen as its first dean. He led …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Eric W. Allen Jr. (1920-1986)

  Editor of the Medford Mail-Tribune from 1968 to 1985, Eric W. Allen Jr. was known for liberal editorials addressed to a conservative community. He was a prominent member of an informal group of progressive editors who were influential in Oregon politics and media after the Second World War. Allen was …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• George Putnam (1872-1961)

  George Putnam was the epitome of the fighting editor during the Progressive era in Oregon. His battles with an entrenched political machine in Medford cost him a night in jail, a libel conviction, and physical assaults. A small and nonviolent man, Putnam announced that “open season for editors has ended …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Oregon Spectator

  Established in 1846, the Oregon Spectator was the first newspaper published in the Oregon Territory, preceding newspapers in California and other western outposts. It was more than a journalistic enterprise. "The Oregon Spectator was not the creature of some early journalist looking for a location," historian George Turnbull wrote, but …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Oregon Statesman

  Throughout its history, the Oregon Statesman has been a chronicler of Oregon politics. In its earliest years, the newspaper literally followed Oregon’s seat of government as it moved from Oregon City to Salem in 1853, to Corvallis in 1855, and then to its final location in Salem later that year. …

  Oregon Encyclopedia

• Thomas Jefferson Dryer (1808–1879)

  Thomas J. Dryer was the first editor of the Portland Oregonian and an active member of Oregon's political scene. From 1850 to 1861, he combined editorial advocacy and civic activities in Portland to be a major player in Territorial politics. Dryer was born January 10, 1808, in Canandaigua County, …

  Oregon Encyclopedia