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Polk County Itemizer-Observer

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Polk County Itemizer-Observer
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Country Media, Inc.
Founder(s)J. H. Upton
EditorDavid Hayes
Founded1868 (as Polk County Signal)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersDallas, Oregon
Circulation3,550
Websitepolkio.com

The Polk County Itemizer-Observer is a weekly newspaper published in Dallas, Oregon, United States, and covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and the surrounding area. It was established in 1875.[1] The Itemizer-Observer is published on Wednesdays and its circulation is 3,550.[1] It is the newspaper of record for Polk County.[2]

History

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Dallas Itemizer

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In 1868, J. H. Upton founded the Polk County Signal in Dallas. It was political newspaper created to support Democrat candidate Joseph Showalter Smith who was running against David Logan for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.[3] The Signal was a four-page seven-column paper published on Mondays. An annual subscription cost $3.[3] It ceased in March 1869.[4] The paper's office space was bought by Frank Stuart who started a new title called the Polk County Times.[5] He sold the paper to D. M. C. Gault who in March 1970 relaunched it as the Oregon Republican.[6] About a year later R. H. Tyson became editor and publisher. At that time the paper claimed a 500 circulation.[3] In 1872, Tyson sold the paper to P. C. Sullivan, who renamed it to the Liberal Republican in support of Horace Greeley and his Liberal Republican Party.[7][3] Henry Sullivan and A. R. Lyle were the paper's next owners followed by Reese Clark.[3] Casey and Hammond purchased the Republican in August 1874 and renamed it to the Dallas Itemizer.[8][9] Casey bought out his partner and then sold the paper to Walter Williams and George E. Good. Up until then the paper used a Washington hand-press when Good installed a power press.[10] In 1883, Good sold the paper to Rev. J. S. McCain,[11] who later that year sold the paper to V. P. Fiske, followed by Graham Glass Jr. and Mr. Prudhomme in 1885[3] and W. A. Wash in June 1888.[12] Fiske repurchased the Itemizer from Wash in 1906.[13] M. L. Boyd with E. Bloom leased the paper in 1914.[14] Bloom dropped out after three years and Boyd operated the paper for the remainder of Fiske's ownership.[3]

Polk County Observer

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In 1888, Charles C. Doughty and George Snyder started the Polk County Observer. The paper was originally in Monmouth but later moved to Dallas.[3] Doughty became the sole owner after a few months. Carey Hayter became a co-owner in 1892.[15] Hayter bought out Doughty in 1899.[16] He leased the paper to Jack Allgood and Dean Collins in 1910.[3] A year later the Observer was sold to Eugene Foster and William Totten.[17] Foster later died and Totten sold out to Gerald Volk and H. Parsell in 1914. Parsell was later bought out by Volk.[18] He sold the Observer a few months later to Lew A. Cates, former publisher of the Cottage Grove Sentinel.[19] Two years later Cates sold the paper to H. W. Brune.[20][21] He returned it to Cates in 1917 to enlist in the army during World War I.[3] E. E. Southard then purchased the paper,[22] and Cates had it back after a few months.[3] E. A. Koen bought the paper in 1919.[23] The Observer plant was destroyed by fire in April 1921,[24] but Koen never missed an issue.[3] Earle Richardson became the owner on March 1, 1924.[25]

Polk County Itemizer-Observer

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In 1927, Fiske sold the Dallas Itemizer to Earle Richardson, who then merged it with the Polk County Observer to form the Polk County Itemizer-Observer.[26] Richardson published the paper until selling it to Eagle Newspapers in 1964.[27] On November 11, 1970, a gas leak ignited in the newspaper's office and caused an explosion. Mechanical equipment including two offset presses valued at $175,000 were destroyed in the blast. The paper's total losses, covered by insurance, were estimated to be up to $500,000.[28] No one was injured.[29] In 1992, the Itemizer-Observer (circulation 5,200) absorbed the Sun-Enterprise (circulation 2,400) of Independence and Monmouth, both owned by Eagle Newspapers. The Sun-Enterprise was formed in 1975 after the merger of the Polk Sun and Enterprise Herald.[30] In March 2020, Eagle sold the Itemizer-Observer to Scott Olson.[31][32] The newspaper was sold again in October 2023 to Country Media, Inc.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Polk County Itemizer-Observer". Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  2. ^ "Newspapers and Genealogical Resources". University of Oregon Libraries. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Turnbull, George S. (1939). "Polk County" . History of Oregon Newspapers . Binfords & Mort.
  4. ^ "State Items". The Oregonian. March 29, 1869. p. 2.
  5. ^ "State Items". The Albany Register. May 8, 1869. p. 2.
  6. ^ "State Items". Corvallis Gazette-Times. March 5, 1870. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Oregon". The Oregonian. August 12, 1872. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Dallas Itemizer". Weekly Corvallis Gazette. August 21, 1874. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Presto, Change". Albany Democrat. August 21, 1874. p. 3.
  10. ^ Fiske, V. P. (November 23, 1929). "Impressions And Observations Of The Journal Man". The Oregon Daily Journal. p. 4.
  11. ^ "General News". Albany Democrat. February 16, 1883. p. 2.
  12. ^ "The Itemizer Sold". Daily Statesman. Salem, Oregon. June 7, 1888. p. 3.
  13. ^ "Itemizer Changes Hands | W. A. Wash Sells the Plant and Subscription List to Captain V. P. Fiske". Polk County Observer. June 29, 1906. p. 3.
  14. ^ "Leases Itemizer | Polk County Paper Is Under News Management". Daily Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. July 4, 1914. p. 2.
  15. ^ "From County Seat of Polk | Some Personal and General Items from the County Over the River". Daily Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. March 1, 1892. p. 4.
  16. ^ "A Newspaper Insolvent". The Eugene Guard. March 13, 1899. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Dallas Observer Sold To Publishing Company". The Oregon Daily Journal. July 27, 1911. p. 10.
  18. ^ "Volk Gets Polk Observer | Semi-Weekly Newspaper Goes Into Hands of One Man Again". The Oregonian. February 10, 1914. p. 2.
  19. ^ "Change In Ownership". Polk County Observer. April 24, 1914. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Dallas Paper Sold". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. September 3, 1916. p. 8.
  21. ^ "Dallas Observer Sold". Albany Daily Democrat. September 2, 1916. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Dallas Observer Sold". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. August 29, 1917. p. 5.
  23. ^ "Newspaper Sold". The Oregon Daily Journal. July 2, 1919. p. 7.
  24. ^ "Fire Guts Dallas Paper | Building and Plant of Polk County Observer Damaged". The Oregonian. April 5, 1921. p. 1.
  25. ^ "Paper Changes Owners | Earle Richardson Buys Weekly Polk County Observer". The Oregonian. February 29, 1924. p. 11.
  26. ^ "2 Polk County Papers Merged Under One Head". The Oregon Daily Journal. May 27, 1927. p. 13.
  27. ^ "Polk County Publisher Sells Paper". The Capital Journal. 1964-04-16. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  28. ^ Davies, Daniel W. (November 13, 1970). "Show Must Go on, Does for Burned Out Dallas Firms". Statesman Journal. p. 5.
  29. ^ Easterling, Jerry (1980-01-20). "The Eagle is soaring: Newspaper chain undergoes rapid growth in past decade". Statesman Journal. p. 66. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  30. ^ Visoky, Tom (1992-12-23). "Two Polk weeklies merge today". Statesman Journal. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  31. ^ Mentzer, Emily (2020-03-31). "Eagle sells IO to Scott Olson". Polk County Itemizer-Observer. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  32. ^ Barreda, Virginia. "Salem-based Eagle Newspapers Inc. sells Polk County Itemizer-Observer". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  33. ^ "Salem based Country Media buys Itemizer-Observer". Polk County Itemizer-Observer. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
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