EUGENE, Ore. — The daily newspaper in Oregon’s second-largest city was sold Thursday to GateHouse Media, one of the country’s largest publishers of local news.
The Register-Guard reported that GateHouse Media will officially take ownership March 1. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
The Baker family has owned and operated the newspaper since 1927, the year Alton Baker Sr. purchased The Eugene Guard. Three years later, he merged the Guard with the Eugene Register.
“We’ve come to the realization that in today’s business environment it’s increasingly difficult for a stand-alone, family-owned daily newspaper to compete successfully and continue to provide products the owners are proud to deliver,” said Tony Baker, chairman of the board for the Guard Publishing Co — parent company of The Register-Guard.