Forest Grove Leader
 | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Advance Publications Inc. |
| Publisher | Oregonian Publishing Co. |
| Editor | Samantha Swindler (effective c. February 2013)[1] |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Forest Grove, Oregon |
| Website | Official site |
The Forest Grove Leader is a weekly community newspaper in Forest Grove in the U.S. state of Oregon. Started in 2012, it is published by the Oregonian Publishing Company, which also publishes The Oregonian and The Hillsboro Argus newspapers. The free publication competes with the News-Times in the city, a suburb in the Portland metropolitan area.
History
The Oregonian, the major daily newspaper in the Portland area, purchased The Hillsboro Argus, a community newspaper in Hillsboro, in 1999. Pamplin Media Group, who publishes the News-Times, a community paper in Forest Grove, launched the Hillsboro Tribune in August 2012 to compete with The Argus.[2] In October 2012, the Oregonian Publishing Co. announced it would launch a newspaper in Forest Grove, the Leader.[3][4][5] It had been rumored the prior month that the company would launch the paper.[5][6]
The new, free publication started on October 17, 2012, and replaced the Courier, which had been a free Argus paper delivered to residents in western Washington County.[3][7] The first issue was set to be mailed free to over 16,000 homes.[2] The publisher planned to open a local office in Forest Grove after the Leader's debut and hire new employees while also using existing staff.[2]
The move by the Leader’s owners was seen as payback for Pamplin’s move into Hillsboro, with the newspaper war focused on winning the Hillsboro market.[4][8][9] The Hillsboro market had 93,455 residents compared to 21,488 for Forest Grove, and household spending on retail goods in Hillsboro was 154 percent of the state-wide figure while the same figure for Forest Grove was only 41.9 percent.[8] The competition between the media companies in Washington County was the focus of a "Think Out Loud" segment on Oregon Public Broadcasting in November 2012.[9] In January 2013, Samantha Swindler was named as the editor of the paper.[1] In December 2015 it was announced the paper would be combined with the Beaverton Leader and the Hillsboro Argus to form the Washington County Argus.[10]
Coverage
The paper was designed to provide hyperlocal coverage to Forest Grove, Banks, Gales Creek, Gaston, and parts of Cornelius.[2][8] Stories would be posted online at OregonLive.com, which also hosts content from The Oregonian and The Argus.[2] Coverage includes high school sports, education, Pacific University, government, and other local news in the Forest Grove area.[2][8]
References
- 1 2 Driessen, Katherine (January 8, 2013). "Samantha Swindler to serve as editor of the Forest Grove Leader". The Oregonian. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Njus, Elliot (October 2, 2012). "Oregonian to launch weekly newspaper in Forest Grove". The Oregonian.
- 1 2 Gaston, Christian (October 9, 2012). "In brief: Hello Leader, goodbye Courier". News-Times.
- 1 2 Mesh, Aaron (October 3, 2012). "The Oregonian Confirms It Will Launch Leader in Forest Grove". Willamette Week.
- 1 2 Mesh, Aaron (September 25, 2012). "The Oregonian, Pamplin Group Are Talking Newspaper War Over Forest Grove". Willamette Week.
- ↑ Gaston, Christian (September 24, 2012). "Oregonian considering Forest Grove expansion". News-Times. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Our opinion". News-Times. October 23, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 Culverwell, Wendy (October 12, 2012). "Oregonian, Trib scuffle in suburbs". Portland Business Journal.
- 1 2 "Looking at Community Newspapers". Think Out Loud. Oregon Public Broadcasting. November 8, 2012.
- ↑ Townsley, Nancy (December 17, 2015). "Three Oregonian papers to consolidate into one". Hillsboro Tribune. Retrieved 28 December 2015.