Chinook Observer
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | EO Media Group |
| Founder(s) | George Hibbert Frank Gaither |
| Publisher | Matt Winters |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Headquarters | 205 Bolstad Avenue E. Suite 2 Long Beach, WA 98631 |
| Circulation | 3,810 Print 852 Digital (as of 2023)[1] |
| ISSN | 0739-9200 |
| Website | chinookobserver.com |
The Chinook Observer is a weekly newspaper serving the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington state. As of about 2013 the paper claimed a circulation of 6,700, making it one of Washington's larger weekly newspapers.[2] The original Linotype machine, a Mergenthaler, was taken out of service in the 1970s and is on loan to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco.[3]
History
In 1900, George Hibbert and Frank Gaither published the first edition of The Observer in Chinook, Washington.[4] The press came from the defunct Tribune in La Conner.[4] Early on Gaither left and was replaced by Charles A. Payne, who worked with Hibbert for nearly a dozen years. In 1912, Payne bought out Hibbert due to a disagreement.[5]
Elton C. Durkee published the paper for about seven years until his sudden death in 1927.[6][7] His son and daughter-in-law John and Margaret Durkee then took over the paper. In 1937, the couple sold it to John M. Stone[8] That same year James M. O'Neil became the owner. At that time circulation was 325.[9] In 1938, he relocated the Observer to Long Beach as the population of Chinook had drastically dropped in recent years since trap fishing was outlawed.[10]
In 1964, O'Neil turned the paper over to his son Wayne O'Neil.[9] Circulation then was around 2,000.[9] He and his wife operated the Observer for the next 20 years.[2] In 1984, the paper was purchased by Craig and Geri Dennis,[11] who sold it in 1988 to the East Oregonian Publishing Company,[12] which later was renamed to EO Media Group. After the sale, printing was moved to The Daily Astorian.[13][14] Matt Winters became the paper's editor in 1991.[15]
In April 2024, the newspaper's office was sold. All staff have since worked remotely from their homes.[16] In October 2024, EO Media Group was sold to Carpenter Media Group.[17]
References
- ^ "EO Media Group Publishing Map". EO Media Group LLC. March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Bagwell, Steve; Stapilus, Randy (2013). New Editions: The Northwest's newspapers as they were, are, and will be. Carlton, Oregon: Ridenbaugh Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-945648-10-9. OCLC 861618089.
- ^ "Pieces of our Past - The original Observer linotype printing machine". chinookobserver.com. February 21, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Newspaper for Chinook". The Tacoma Daily Ledger. December 21, 1900. p. 8.
- ^ "Editors Cannot Agree | C. A. Payne Buys George Hibbert's interest in Chinook Observer". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. July 26, 1912. p. 11.
- ^ "Editor Passes". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. October 3, 1927. p. 12.
- ^ "E. C. Durkee, Editor". Chinook Observer. Associated Press. October 3, 1927. p. 2.
- ^ "Chinook Observer Sold To Stone; Paper Started In 1900; Earliest Files Have Interesting History". The Daily Astorian. January 12, 1937. p. 6.
- ^ a b c Spiro, Richard (March 30, 1968). "Columbia River County Personalities". Longview Daily News. p. 17.
- ^ "Chinook Observer Taken to Long Beach". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. Associated Press. March 2, 193. p. 2.
- ^ Kever, Jeannie (August 11, 1984). "New owners | Couple take over peninsula newspaper". Longview Daily News. p. 3.
- ^ "Chinook Observer has new owner". Longview Daily News. February 20, 1988. p. 1988.
- ^ "New chief operating officer takes over at EOPC". Wallowa County Chieftain. June 2, 2005.
- ^ "The Chinook Observer has more than a century of service". The Chinook Observer. July 13, 2003. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
- ^ Winters, Matt (July 28, 2011). "Editor's Notebook: Twenty years ago, I became editor of a rural newspaper". The Astorian. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ "The Astorian building is for sale, but newspaper operations are not". The Astorian. November 29, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ^ Rogoway, Mike (October 23, 2024). "Oregon newspaper chain EO Media sells itself to Mississippi company". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 23, 2024.