.svg) | |
 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Rosebud Media LLC |
| Publisher | Steven Saslow (2017–2023)[1] |
| Editor | Bob Hunter (1985–2016) Cathy Noah (2016–2022) David Smigelski (2022–2023) |
| Founded | April 2, 1907 |
| Ceased publication | January 13, 2023 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 111 North Fir Street,Medford, Oregon 97501 United States |
| Sister newspapers | Ashland Daily Tidings |
| Website | mailtribune |
TheMail Tribune was a seven-daydaily newspaper based inMedford, Oregon, United States that servedJackson County, Oregon, and adjacent areas ofJosephine County, Oregon and northernCalifornia. The paper ceased operations on January 13, 2023. The closure was announced by Rosebud Media, the paper's owner, two days prior.[2][3]
Its coverage area centered on Medford andAshland and included many small communities in Jackson County. The newspaper also coveredCentral Point,Talent,Eagle Point,Grants Pass andPhoenix, as well asJacksonville and other cities in theRogue Valley.
In 1888, Thomas Harlan founded theMail in Medford, Oregon. He was followed as publisher by Newell Harlan in 1890, Felix G. Kertson in 1891 and possibly at some point Ira Phelps.[4] A. S. Bliton bought the paper from Kerton in 1893 and ran it for 16 years. At that time the paper was called theSouthern Oregon Mail, but Bliton renamed it to theMedford Mail.[4] It had been affiliated withPeople's Party, but Bliton went independent and lost half of his 500 subscribers due to his unpopular political attitude. Within two years he grew circulation to 1,500 and for a time brought W. T. York on as partner after 1894.[4]
In 1909, Bliton sold theMail to George Putnam, who then merged it with theSouthern Oregonian,Jacksonville Times andMedford Tribune to form theMedford Mail-Tribune. The paper was viewed as a successor to theOregon Sentinel, the first newspaper published in southern Oregon.[5] Putnam was seen as the "epitome of the fighting editor during theProgressive Era in Oregon"[6] and his journalism was notable enough to warrantGeorge Stanley Turnbull authoring two books on him and his work at the paper.[7][8]
In 1919, Putnam retired as president of the Medford Printing Company to own and operate theCapital Journal in Salem. He was succeeded by Robert W. Ruhl.[4] Under his leadership, theMail Tribune was awarded the1934 Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Service, for its coverage of corrupt Jackson County politicians.[9][10] The Ruhl family operated the paper for 62 years until selling it in 1973 toOttaway Newspapers, a subsidiarity of theDow Jones, owner ofThe Wall Street Journal.[11] The company was acquired in 2007 byNews Corp, owned byRupert Murdoch.[12]
On September 4, 2013,News Corp announced that it would sell Ottaway Newspapers, by then known as Dow JonesLocal Media Group, to Newcastle Investment Corp., an affiliate ofFortress Investment Group for $87 million. The newspapers were to be operated byGateHouse Media, owned by Fortress.[13] News Corp. CEO and formerWall Street Journal editorRobert James Thomson indicated that the newspapers were "not strategically consistent with the emerging portfolio" of the company.[14] GateHouse in turn filed prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 27, 2013, to restructure its debt obligations in order to accommodate the acquisition.[15]
TheMail Tribune andAshland Daily Tidings were sold to Rosebud Media in 2017 for a reported $15 million.[16][17] On September 21, 2022, theMail Tribune announced it would discontinue its printed edition and only publish online.[18][19] TheMail Tribune published its final online articles on January 13, 2023, and ceased operations.[20][21]
