The Skanner has covered politics, policy and other community issues in Oregon and Washington for five decades.
An array of front pages from The Skanner, one of Oregon’s only Black-owned news outlets, that ended operations on Jan. 30, 2026, after 50 years of publication.
Screenshot via Historic Oregon Newspapers / OPB
Advertisement
A 50-year pillar of Portland media known for reporting on policy impacts in undercovered areas — and one of the state’s only Black-owned news outlets — is shutting down.
The online newspaper was one of just a few Black-owned publications in the state before its website became inactive. The closing of The Skanner comes as Oregon’s journalism industry continues to shrink and consolidate.
As first reported by Willamette Week, The Skanner ended operations on Jan. 30.
Bernie and Bobbie Dore Foster started the newspaper in 1975, according to interviews with the Oregon Historical Society. The newspaper printed a weekly paper until 2023, when it converted to digital-only. Bernie Foster said The Skanner is closing completely now due to rapid changes in technology.
“I hope the new generation of people, that they will leave the city of Portland and this country in better shape than when they found it,” Bernie Foster told OPB.
Advertisement
The Skanner joined the Portland media scene five years after the Portland Observer, one of the state’s only other Black-owned publications.
Together, the media outlets have helped train many journalists and writers, including Portland communication consultant and essayist Donovan Scribes.
“The Observer and The Skanner were important places to be able to cut your teeth,” Scribes told OPB, “and also be taken seriously within your craft as a writer and your ability to give analysis on situations.”
Scribes first worked as a reporter at The Observer before moving to The Skanner in 2014. He spent two years at the paper at a pivotal time in U.S. history: the growth of Black Lives Matter from a rallying cry and hashtag to a grassroots movement.
Scribes said working at The Skanner during that period solidified and grew his love of Black-owned publications.
Advertisement
“Black media is important to telling stories that otherwise may not be told,” Scribes said.
During his time at The Skanner, he was reading through police reports in the Portland region and continued to notice the phrase “gang-related shooting.”
Scribes would then see the phrase in news stories, so he asked one of the officials in the region to sit down for an interview with him for The Skanner.
Scribes asked what the threshold was for calling something gang-related.
“In the conversation, it essentially came out that there was no rationale for the statement,” Scribes told OPB. “That Q&A being published, it was such a big thing for a lot of people in the community to finally have it be laid out that there was no rationale — because it’s something that was so normalized.”
Advertisement
Lisa Loving was among the editors who worked with Scribes.
Loving, a journalism educator and author of the nonfiction book Street Journalist, started as a reporter and then moved into an editor role at The Skanner on-and-off from 2000 to 2015.
“Some of the best stories we ever did were stories where people walked in The Skanner office and just brought rolling suitcases full of documents about how they were treated badly at a local hospital, or boxes of documents about what’s happened to their child in the juvenile justice system,” Loving told OPB. “In a way, you could say The Skanner was a microcosm of how the African and African-American communities fit in the Pacific Northwest.”
Many of the print editions covering decades of The Skanner are archived with the Oregon Historical Society. The website currently shows a note saying the URL is “not found.”
Loving hopes there’s also a way to preserve the content that was on The Skanner’s website.
Advertisement
“It’s the history of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest, it’s a history of communities that were built around African Americans in the Pacific Northwest, and who are the allies, who are the accomplices, who are the enemies,” Loving said. “There’s so much in there, and that is a huge loss to anyone who lives here.”
Sign up today for OPB’s “First Look” – your daily guide to the most important news and culture stories from around the Northwest.
Hear Oregon women’s Graves, Etute and Fiso after loss to Washington
The Oregon Ducks women’s basketball team finishes the regular season with a March 1 home loss to Washington.
At times, the Oregon women’s basketball team has certainly made things much harder on themselves than it needs to be. The team has also produced some miraculous comeback victories, putting itself in position to make women’s March Madness for the second straight season.
March 1, in their final regular season game, the Ducks (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) finished on the wrong end of yet another tight game to Washington, 70-69. It’s the second time this season Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, but ended up losing to the Huskies (20-9, 10-8).
Advertisement
Those aren’t the only times Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, like it did in wins vs. Nebraska and USC. The No. 11-seed Ducks are hoping they won’t need heroics in a Big Ten tournament first-round game against No. 14 Purdue this Wednesday.
Watch Oregon basketball on Peacock
“I think our biggest weakness this year has been our inconsistency,” coach Kelly Graves said, “something we’ve battled all year. The great thing is our kids know, regardless of the score, we’ve got a chance. We’ll make it a game at some point. As a coach, it drives you nuts. Hopefully we can figure it out and play more consistent basketball.”
Oregon’s volatility has seen it earn three double-digit comeback wins this year, but also blow several games in the final moments.
Advertisement
Against Wisconsin, the Ducks held a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but lost in overtime. Against Illinois, Oregon held a 21-point lead at halftime, blew it in the third quarter, trailed by eight with minutes to play and somehow eked out a win.
That makes UO somewhat of a wild card heading into the conference tournament this week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“It’s definitely (been) a rollercoaster,” guard Katie Fiso said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows. But one thing that I try to see through all games is our grittiness and our toughness. One thing that stays consistent throughout the season is our toughness and our grittiness. The game isn’t over until the last bell rings.”
The Ducks will be taking on a Boilermakers (13-16, 5-13) team that has struggled against most of the top competition in the league, but played Oregon tight in a Feb. 25 Ducks win.
Advertisement
Graves said when the Ducks went throughout the postgame handshake line after, the Boilermakers felt like their season would end after the regular season. Thanks to some upsets, Purdue is in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.
“We’re playing a team that probably feels like it’s playing with house money,” Graves said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get it done.”
What channel is Oregon vs. Purdue on today in Big Ten tournament?
Oregon will tip off vs. Purdue on Peacock, with no TV option to watch the game.
Oregon vs. Purdue start time in Big Ten tournament
Date: Wednesday, March 4
Time: Around 5:30 p.m. PT
Oregon and Purdue will play around 5:30 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The first game of the day begins at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the next game 25 minutes after the first game ends, and so on. The Ducks play in the third game of the day, so no official tip time is listed.
Oregon women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Oregon’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
Advertisement
Feb. 15
Washington 51, Oregon 43
Feb. 19
Oregon 80, Nebraska 76
Feb. 22
Indiana 72, Oregon 65
Feb. 25
Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1
Washington 70, Oregon 69
March 4
Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)
Purdue women’s basketball schedule 2025-26
Below are the past five games of Purdue’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.
Feb. 14
Purdue 72, Rutgers 57
Feb. 19
Iowa 83, Purdue 74
Feb. 22
Maryland 99, Purdue 66
Feb. 25
Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1
Purdue 67, Northwestern 62
March 4
Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football and women’s basketball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com.
SALEM, Oregon — In the final week of Oregon’s legislative short session, lawmakers in Salem discussed regulating data centers — specifically, placing a one-year moratorium on certain tax breaks.
Governor Tina Kotek has been looking to expand the state’s enterprise zone program, which is intended to grow Oregon companies and attract new ones. Businesses that locate or expand within designated zones can qualify for property tax exemptions on new investments if they meet eligibility requirements.
However, some advocates argue that extending incentives to data centers may not be sustainable long term.
Advertisement
“Data centers have been around for a while,” said Kelly Campbell, policy director for Columbia Riverkeeper. “Data centers are getting bigger and bigger. Some of these new AI hyperscale data centers are exponentially bigger than those tiny ones. They’re really just using a lot of energy, a lot of water.”
However, some advocates argue that extending incentives to data centers may not be sustainable long term.
“Data centers have been around for a while,” said Kelly Campbell, policy director for Columbia Riverkeeper. “Data centers are getting bigger and bigger. Some of these new AI hyperscale data centers are exponentially bigger than those tiny ones. They’re really just using a lot of energy, a lot of water.”
Last week, Columbia Riverkeeper released a report examining data centers operating or planned along the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington.
“I think the question becomes, do we want to stick to our climate goals of getting to 100% renewable? Or do we want to have these big, mega data centers owned by big tech companies — some of the wealthiest corporations in the world — getting to use whatever energy they want? We would say, no, that’s not OK,” Campbell said.
Advertisement
On Monday, lawmakers amended an economic incentives bill to block new data centers from qualifying for certain tax breaks for one year.
“I think this moratorium is a pretty short pause to give the advisory council time and space to do their work,” said Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, during a subcommittee meeting Monday morning.
The Data Center Advisory Committee, convened by Kotek, held its first meeting Friday. The group’s goal is to develop policy recommendations addressing the rapid growth of data centers.
“There are some businesses that will need them, but freestanding data centers, the way we’ve been growing in the state, is not sustainable,” the Governor told reporters during a press conference last week.
On Monday, her office sent KGW a statement regarding the moratorium:
Advertisement
“The moratorium will address immediate concerns and also allow for the Governor’s Data Center Advisory Committee to develop recommendations to strategically pursue economic development opportunities while ensuring utility costs, infrastructure investments, and environmental impacts remain sustainable and equitable for all residents.”
Supporters of data center growth, particularly in rural communities, also spoke during work sessions.
“This moratorium will have a disparate impact on communities east of the Cascades — communities like Prineville, Hermiston and Redmond that have leveraged enterprise zones and data centers to bring hundreds of living-wage jobs to their communities,” said Alexandra Ring, a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities.
“While data centers may be seen as a nuisance or inconvenient in Washington County, they are not in Crook County. They are not in Morrow County, in Umatilla County,” said Sen. Mark McLane, who represents several Eastern Oregon counties, including Baker, Crook, Grant and Harney.
Even if the House and Senate ultimately approve the moratorium, it would apply only to new data centers — not those that already receive tax breaks or projects currently underway.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A member of Oregon’s Iranian community on Monday reacted to American and Israeli strikes in his home country and the death of Iran’s supreme leader over the weekend.
That reaction came as the conflict in the Middle East expanded into a third day. President Donald Trump indicated it could go on for several weeks.
Amin Yousefimalakabad says right now he is concerned about his family, who he says lives near military bases in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
He described businesses with shattered windows and explosions near his family’s home.
Advertisement
At the same time, Yousefimalakabad says he felt relief learning about the killing of the ayatollah.
He says he fled Iran four years ago after facing political persecution.
“I used to be a political prisoner in Iran. I got arrested in one of the protests that happened in Iran, and I was under torture for two weeks,” he said in an interview with KATU News. “They put me in prison for six months. I had, even when I was thinking about those days, it made my body shake from inside because I didn’t deserve that. I just wanted the first things that I can have in a foreign country like America in my country. I wanted freedom. I wanted to have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, to choose who I want to be.”
Meanwhile, Yousefimalakabad says he still can’t return to Iran, fearing he would be punished for his Christian beliefs and says although the regime could change, the ideology in Iran might not.
