Portland Tribune
The Portland Tribune is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched in 2001, the paper was published twice weekly until 2008, when it was reduced to weekly.[2] It returned to twice-weekly publication in 2014[3] and was again reduced to weekly publication in 2020.[4] It was distributed free from its 2001 launch until October 2022, then becoming available only by paid subscription or purchase at retail outlets.[5]
Type
Mark Garber
Vance Tong
15 (newsroom total, as of 2017)
2001
6605 SE Lake Road
Portland, Oregon United States
35,000 (as of 2022)[1]
History[edit]
2000–2007[edit]
Portland businessman Robert B. Pamplin Jr. announced his intention to found the paper in the summer of 2000. The first issue of the twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays) paper was published February 9, 2001,[6][7] joining The Oregonian, the city's only daily general-interest newspaper, and the alternative weeklies Willamette Week and The Portland Mercury. At the time, it was a rare example of the expansion of print news, in a time when many cities were seeing newspapers merge or go out of business.[8] But its launch preceded a significant national downturn in advertising sales, which posed difficulties for a startup newspaper.[8] Eleven months after its launch, the Tribune cut back on home deliveries.[9] The newspaper was reportedly losing money faster than anticipated after its first year.[10] By late 2006, its newsroom staff had been reduced to 27.[2]
Coverage[edit]
The paper deals almost exclusively with issues local to Portland and the U.S. state of Oregon. The paper is known for its extensive coverage of local high school, college and professional sports teams, with concentration on the NBA, Pac-10, Big Sky Conference and West Coast Conference. A business section was added to the print edition in 2014, along with other coverage expansion, including health and fitness content and more regional coverage.[3]
The Tribune sponsors the annual Portland Regional Spelling Bee for middle school students. The champion participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.[12]