Oregon Journal

The Oregon Journal was Portland, Oregon s daily afternoon newspaper from 1902 to 1982.

The Journal was founded in Portland by Charles Samuel Jackson, the publisher of Pendleton, Oregon s East Oregonian newspaper, after a group of Portlanders convinced Jackson to help in the reorganization of the Portland Evening Journal , then being liquidated. In his first editiorial as publisher, Jackson declared: The Journal in head and heart will stand for the people. It will not be a dull and selfish sheet.

Jackson continued as editor and publisher until his death in 1924. He was succeeded as publisher by his son, Phillip, who remained at the helm of the paper until his death in 1953. The Journal competed with the state s major newspaper, The Oregonian , touting itself as the strong voice of the Oregon Country. The paper was involved in a number of early 20th century crusades for reform, including adoption of the initiative and referendum laws, for pure milk, and development of the Columbia River navigation channel.

In 1947, the Journal became the first newspaper in the country to employ a helicopter on a regular basis to gather news photographs. Tragically, the Journal s associate publisher, C.S. Jackson II, was killed when the helicopter, which he was piloting, crashed.

The death of the younger Jackson left the paper without a family heir. In this era, afternoon newspapers began their decline due to the rise of television, changing commuting patterns and other forces. The paper s economic vitality was further sapped by a strike against both Portland newspapers that began in November, 1959. In 1961 the trustees of the Jackson estate sold the Journal to The Oregonian s publisher Samuel Irving Newhouse for eight million dollars. Newhouse had acquired The Oregonian, Portland s morning daily, in 1950. Newhouse consolidated production and business operations of the two newspapers in the Oregonian s building while keeping their editorial staffs separate. As a result of the Newhouse acquisition, publication of the Journals Sunday edition was suspended.

The paper s last publisher was William W. Knight, father of Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Other key voices in the paper s final years included Editor Donald Sterling Jr., columnists Dick Fagan (creator of Mill Ends Park, the world s smallest park) and Doug Baker and Sports Editor George Pasero.

In 1982 The Journal was shut down due to declining advertising revenues, and incorporated into the Oregonian .

Archives of the Journal are maintained by the Oregonian .