Carpenter Media Group announced today that a preliminary agreement has been reached to acquire the assets of EO Media Group, a respected family-owned media company with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest. The acquisition includes EO Media GroupSA国际影视传媒檚 portfolio of more than two dozen newspapers and magazines across Oregon and Washington.
Titles include EO Media GroupSA国际影视传媒檚 flagship newspaper, the East Oregonian (OR), GO! Eastern Oregon (OR), The Astorian (OR), Chinook Observer (WA), Seaside Signal (OR), Our Coast Magazine (OR/WA), The Bulletin (OR), Redmond Spokesman (OR), GO! Central Oregon (OR), Rogue Valley Times (OR), GO! Rogue Valley (OR), Discover Our Coast (OR/WA), Coast River Business Journal (OR/WA), The Hermiston Herald (OR), La Grande Observer (OR), Baker City Herald (OR), Blue Mountain Eagle (OR), the Wallowa County Chieftain (OR), Oregon Capital Insider (OR), The Other Oregon magazine (OR), Capital Press (OR/WA/ID), and GrowerSA国际影视传媒檚 Guide (WA).
Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is representing EO Media Group in the transaction.
Founded in 1908, East Oregonian Publishing Company SA国际影视传媒� now known as EO Media Group SA国际影视传媒� has been guided by four generations of the Aldrich and Forrester families, making it a pillar of community journalism in the region. The companySA国际影视传媒檚 flagship publications, such as the East Oregonian and The Astorian, have become staples of local news coverage, recognized for their commitment to quality journalism and deep community ties. The company acquired many community weeklies and the Capital Press over the years. The Bulletin and Redmond Spokesman were acquired in 2019. In 2023, after the closure of the Medford Mail Tribune, EO Media Group began publishing the Rogue Valley Times.
Stephen A. Forrester, President and CEO of EO Media Group, and his cousin Kathryn B. Brown, Vice President of the company, reflected on the emotional significance of this transition and the familySA国际影视传媒檚 long history in publishing.
SA国际影视传媒淭he roots of my sentiment stretch back to the 1950s, when I first entered the old East Oregonian building in Pendleton,SA国际影视传媒� Forrester shared. SA国际影视传媒淢y fatherSA国际影视传媒檚 office had once been my grandfatherSA国际影视传媒檚, Edwin Burton Aldrich. Over decades, our family has worked to build lasting connections with the communities we serve, especially in places like Pendleton and Astoria.SA国际影视传媒�
Brown and Forrester highlighted several examples of EO MediaSA国际影视传媒檚 community impact.
SA国际影视传媒淢y great-grandfather and the East Oregonian were involved in starting the Pendleton Round-Up, and my grandmother, Amy Bedford, put much of her life into creation of the Pendleton River Parkway,SA国际影视传媒� Brown said.
Forrester added, SA国际影视传媒淚n Astoria, The Daily Astorian led a decade-long drive to restore the Liberty Theater. And in John Day, we were enormously proud of our publisher of the Blue Mountain Eagle, Marissa Williams, and our editor Scotta Callister for standing up to the Aryan Nation, which sought to establish a new homeland in Grant County in 2010.SA国际影视传媒�
These efforts are chronicled in Grit and Ink: An Oregon FamilySA国际影视传媒檚 Adventures in Newspapering, 1908-2018, a history of the familySA国际影视传媒檚 contribution to journalism by William Willingham.
The impending sale marks the continuation of EO Media GroupSA国际影视传媒檚 mission under new leadership, ensuring that the publications that have long been part of the cultural fabric of the Pacific Northwest will remain vital to the communities they serve.
Carpenter Media Group, led by Chairman Todd Carpenter, has expressed a deep respect for the legacy of the Forrester family and a commitment to continuing the tradition of high-quality, community-focused journalism.
SA国际影视传媒淲e plan to build on the foundations put down by the Forrester family as we continue to innovate and work to support true professional journalism for each community served,SA国际影视传媒� said Carpenter. SA国际影视传媒淲e know our readers depend on us for timely reporting of facts so they can be informed and contribute to improvement of the places they live. We pledge to work hard to meet that obligation as we simultaneously work to serve small and medium-size business with marketing programs that strengthen the business, the community and thus the newspaper. We are all in it together and have a vested interest in strengthening the institutions that make us a community, beginning with its newspaper.SA国际影视传媒�
Prior to chairing CMG, Carpenter was a longtime CEO and director of Boone Newsmedia, Inc. (BNI), which, including CMGSA国际影视传媒檚 holdings along with its own, managed 85 newspaper titles, various magazines, websites and other businesses in 12 states. After separating CMG holdings last year from BNI and recent acquisitions, CMG now owns and manages more than 250 titles in the U.S. and Canada.
