| Founded | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters location | 388 State St #800, Salem, OR 97301 |
| Owner(s) | Steve and Carol Hungerford |
| Official website | countrymedia |
Country Media, Inc. is a Salem-based family-owned media and web design company whose principal shareholders are Carol and Steve Hungerford. The company owns 11 community newspaper properties in Oregon and one in California.[1]The company also previously owned newspapers in North Dakota and Montana.
History
Origins
Steve Hungerford earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska and a master's in journalism from the University of Oregon. He moved to Oregon in 1973 to purchase the weekly Milwaukie Review newspaper. In the mid-1980s, he was named director of human resources at the Salem Statesman Journal and, in 1988, became executive editor and publisher of the Daily Enterprise Courier in Oregon City. Steve Hungerford, and he wife Carol Hungerford, moved to Nebraska in 1990 when Steve was named publisher of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald. A decade later Steve and four others founded Country Media, Inc. in 2000 and purchased 18 weekly newspapers.[2]
Oregon/California business operations
Country Media purchased its first newspaper in Oregon, the Cannon Beach Gazette, in October 2006.[2] A little over a year later the company would acquire The Headlight Herald in Tillamook and The News Guard in Lincoln City in April 2007. Those two papers had previously been owned by Oregon Coast Newspapers LLC since February 2003.[2] That same year in October, Country Media purchased the Seaside Signal.[3]
In February 2009, Country Media acquired the St. Helens Chronicle and Sentinel Mist.[4]
In January 2011, County Media acquired the monthly Coast River Business Journal. The business publication had been founded in Astoria five years prior.[5]The same year in June, the company acquired the biweekly North Coast Citizen newspaper in Manzanita. The paper had previously been owned by EO Media Group, who has purchased it in 2007 from Jan and Dave Fisher.[6]
In February 2013, County Media sold the Seaside Signal, Cannon Beach Gazette and Coast River Business Journal to EO Media Group.[7]
In July 2014, Country Media acquired weekly newspaper The Chief in Clatskanie from Clatskanie Chief Publishing Co. The paper had previously been owned by the Steele and Hazen families for 92 years.[8]
In May 2019, Country Media re-acquired the Cannon Beach Gazette from EO Media Group. The company had previously owned the Gazette from 2006 to 2013. Following the sale, the paper's publishing frequency from twice monthly to weekly beginning.[1]
In July 2019, Country Media acquired the Del Norte Triplicate and Curry Coastal Pilot from the bankrupt Western Communications, Inc. Following the sale, three employees at the Triplicate were laid off.[9] The sale price for both papers was $350,000.[10]
In January 2020, Country Media acquired daily newspaper The World in Coos Bay, as well as the weekly newspapers Western World in Bandon and The Umpqua Post in Reedsport, from Southwest Oregon Publishing Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lee Enterprises.[11] Due to the COVID-19 recession in the United States, The Umpqua Post ceased operations in June and The World reduced it's print days from five to two.[12] The Bandon Western World printed its final issue in July.[13]
In September 2023, Country Media acquired three weekly newspapers, the Newport News-Times, Cottage Grove Sentinel and Siuslaw News, from News Media Corporation. News Media Cooperation had purchased the Siuslaw News in 2000, and the other two papers in 2006.[14]
Dakota/Montana business operations
Country Media owned several community newspapers in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana from 2000 to 2021. Over two years the company closed two papers and sold four others to local owners.
In November 2019, Country Media announced plans to close three newspapers in North Dakota: the Adams Country Record in Hettinger, Dunn County Herald in Killdeer and The Herald in New England.[15]According to Steve Andrist, Executive Director for the North Dakota Newspaper Association, Country Media told him the newspapers were profitable, but that profit didn't justify the time and effort it took to properly manage the publications.[16] After failing to find a buyer, the company decided to close all three.[15]After news of the closures broke, by December, the Adams County Record and the The Herald avoided closure after selling to Grant County News owner Jill Friesz.[16] The Dunn County Herald closed for good in 2019.[17]
In May 2021, Country Media sold the Bowman County Pioneer in Bowman and Fallon County Times in Baker, Montana to a joint venture between Little Missouri Media owner Dudley Stuber and The Badlands Patriot, a company owned by his daughter and son-in-law, Mikki and Brandon Pryor.[18]That same year in November, the company shuttered Cavalier County Republican in Langdon. The paper had been published since 1889.[19]
Newspapers
| State | Service Area | Newspaper | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Coos Bay | The World | theworldlink |
| Oregon | Tillamook | Tillamook Headlight-Herald | tillamookheadlightherald |
| Oregon | St. Helens | The Chronicle | thechronicleonline |
| Oregon | Brookings | Curry Coastal Pilot | currypilot |
| California | Crescent City | Del Norte Triplicate | triplicate |
| Oregon | Lincoln City | Lincoln City News Guard | thenewsguard |
| Oregon | Clatskanie | The Chief | thechiefnews |
| Oregon | Manzanita | North Coast Citizen | northcoastcitizen |
| Oregon | Cannon Beach | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette |
| Oregon | Bandon | Bandon Western World | theworldlink |
| Oregon | Newport | News-Times | newportnewstimes |
| Oregon | Cottage Grove | Cottage Grove Sentinel | cgsentinel |
| Oregon | Florence | Siuslaw News | thesiuslawnews |
References
- ^ a b "Country Media re-acquires Cannon Beach Gazette". EO Media Group LLC. 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ a b c "New owners taking over coast papers". Tillamook Headlight-Herald. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Astorian, The Daily (2007-10-31). "Seaside Signal has new owners - again". The Astorian. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Local media owners purchase St. Helens Chronicle". The Astorian. 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Country Media buys Coast River Business Journal". St. Helens Chronicle. 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Country Media buys North Coast Citizen". Tillamook Headlight-Herald. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "EO Media Group Acquires Three Newspapers on Oregon Coast". EO Media Group LLC. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "The Chronicle buys Clatskanie newpaper". St. Helens Chronicle. 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Country Media acquires the Triplicate Newspaper". KIEM-TV | Redwood News. 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Cureton Cook, Emily. "Oregon Buyers Bid On Sister Papers, Not Bend Bulletin". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Business: Country Media buys publications in Coos Bay, Bandon, Reedsport". St. Helens Chronicle. 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Final issue of The Umpqua Post". The Coos Bay World. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Kenfield, Ben (2020-07-30). "Final issue of Bandon Western World". The Coos Bay World. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Country Media., Inc. acquires News-Times". Newport News Times. 2023-09-01. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ a b Dura, Jack (2019-11-29). "3 western North Dakota newspapers to cease publication on Friday". The Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ a b Notermann, Jacob (2019-12-06). "2 of 3 closed North Dakota papers bought". KFYR-TV. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Koffler, Ashley (2022-12-09). "The Dickinson Press named official newspaper of Dunn County". Dickinson Press. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Fallon County Times undernew ownership and management - Fallon County Times". Fallon County Times. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Harbo, Ingrid (2021-11-30). "Langdon, ND, newspaper faces uncertainty after Country Media ceases publication". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2023-09-09.