Oregon
Two more Oregon newspapers go dark. This time in Columbia County
Another Oregon news source has gone belly up due to declining revenues.
The Columbia County Chronicle & Chief, a recently formed hybrid of two existing papers serving the rural environs northwest of Portland, printed its last issue Sept. 25.
Its publisher, Country Media, had merged the St. Helens Chronicle and Clatskanie Chief in December 2023, citing the need to cut costs in the face of declining print revenue and difficulties with staff turnover.
“Combining the two newspapers into one was a last-ditch effort to reduce expenses and reestablish profitability,” company president Steve Hungerford said in a statement. “Sadly, that wasn’t successful.”
The weekly Chronicle & Chief was down to a newsroom of one, plus an administrator and page designer when the closure was announced. Both papers had served Columbia County under a variety of mastheads since the late 1800s.
It’s the latest bad news for local print media publishers, who have spent decades searching for a sustainable business model while grappling with an ad market now dominated by tech companies.
EO Media Group stopped printing five newspapers and cut two-dozen staffers in June. Pamplin Media Group also saw job losses once it sold to the Mississippi-based Carpenter chain. The new owners are running house ads warning they will merge their Estacada and Sandy papers unless more readers start paying.
There are about 1,000 people left working for the state’s newspapers, a decline of three quarters since 2000, The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported.
The Chronicle and Chief’s final issue included front-page reports on a delayed reservoir project and the loss of 24-hour police coverage in St. Helens. Its demise did not go unnoted.
“Social media cannot replace our county paper of record, because its content is not professionally vetted,” reader Margaret Trenchard-Smith wrote in a letter to the editor. “We have lost a chunk of our history.”
—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.
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Oregon
Oregon Ducks’ Dillon Gabriel Chance To Join Marcus Mariota In Oregon History
Dillon Gabriel has led the Oregon Ducks to a 10-0 overall record and the No. 1 ranking the for the past four weeks. The Hawaiian native has thrown for 22 touchdowns (tied for No. 6 in the nation) on 2,848 passing yards (No. 8 in the nation) this season so far. His 74.1 completion rate (No. 1 in the nation) and 168.38 passer rating (No. 6 in the nation) are the stats that have stood out the most from his remarkable campaign.
Because of his efforts, he’s being considered as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy plus was announced as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. Adding to this long list of honors, he’s now being considered for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award which is given to the top senior at the quarterback position in college football.
Joining Gabriel as the finalists for this award are Ole Miss Running Rebels Jaxson Dart, Colorado Buffaloes Shedeur Sanders, Miami Hurricanes Cam Ward, and Indiana Hoosiers Kurtis Rourke. Gabriel isn’t the first Duck to be considered for the Johnny Unitas Award. Only Marcus Mariota in 2014 has actually won it, but Joey Harrington (2001), Kellen Clemons (2005), Dennis Dixon (2007), Justin Herbert (2019, Anthony Brown Jr. (2021), and Bo Nix (2022 and 2023) were all named finalists.
Gabriel recently broke the NCAA’s all-time record for total touchdowns with 180 total throughout his career spent with the UCF Golden Knights, Oklahoma Sooners, and Oregon. He passed Houston’s Case Keenum previous record of 178 total last week during the 39-18 victory over the Maryland Terrapins.
Gabriel is on the precipice of two major NCAA awards. Gabriel is just three starts by a quarterback away from breaking former Duck Nix’s all-time record at 61 which he should have full control of at some point this season. Gabriel will now set his sights on Keenum’s all-time record for touchdown passes of 155, entering Saturday with 147 in his career.
“You can’t go through that game without recognizing, you know, having the all-time NCAA touchdown record for Dillon Gabriel and what he was able to accomplish there. He’ll be the first one to tell you he doesn’t care, but he should, because that’s a really special moment for him.”
– Coach Dan Lanning after Maryland-Oregon
Coach Dan Lanning and his quarterback have bigger things to worry about than individual awards and records. Oregon will play at Wisconsin this Saturday, Nov. 16 at 4:30 p.m. PT.
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Oregon
Oregon State MBB Takes Down Winless Cal State-Fullerton, 70-51
Tonight, Wayne Tinkle’s Oregon State Beavers notched their fourth win of the season by beating Cal State-Fullerton, 70-51, at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. The winless Titans fought hard and held a halftime lead, holding onto their advantage until just past the 12-minute mark of the second half before Oregon State went on a run to break the game open.
After the second media timeout of period two, the Beavers locked in, outscoring Fullerton 25-6 over the last eight minutes of the contest to create a 19-point lead. Before that, Fullerton defended their 32-25 halftime lead admirably against a much more talented Oregon State squad, but eventually, the talent took over for the Beavers.
Oregon State finished with three players in double figures, led by Nate Kingz, who scored 22 points on 6-for-9 from the field, all of which were from beyond the arc, and also recorded eight boards. Michael Rataj had 18 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting, while Lithuanian wing Liutauras Lelevicius, who was cleared to play by the NCAA just before the season started, added 12 points on 4-for-8 (3-for-6 from deep). Guard DaMarco Minor struggled with efficiency, but managed nine points and five assists with zero turnovers, playing the lead initiator role effectively in facilitating the offense.
For Fullerton, just one player scored 10-plus: Davis Bynum put up 12 points on 55% shooting and 40% from three on five attempts. No one else scored more than eight; their leading scorer entering the game, Donovan Oday, had a particularly tough evening, shooting just 2-for-11 overall and 0-for-2 on threes.
Though it was a very shaky start for Oregon State, they demonstrated what they can look like when they focus in on an inferior opponent, evident in their 19-point swing over the last eight minutes of the game. They held the Titans to 22.7% from beyond the arc, and only allowed them to get to the line 13 times compared to their own 24 attempts.
Their next game, on Thursday, will be by far their biggest test to date as they host cross-state rival Oregon, giving them an opportunity for an early-season victory that could help define their 2024 campaign.
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Oregon
Everything Wisconsin Badgers Coach Luke Fickell Said About Oregon Ducks
The No. 1 Oregon Ducks hit the road for the final time in the regular season as they travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium.
Badgers’ coach Luke Fickell spoke at length about how the Ducks may be the best team that Wisconsin has lined up against this season.
Fickell said on Monday that the Badgers are going challenged by the explosive offensive that the Ducks possess.
“They are going to be challenged in different ways,” Fickell noted. “You can be challenged each and every week in a lot of different ways. This one will be one we maybe haven’t seen the entire year. The ability for them to throw the ball down the field, the dynamic of the wide receivers they have and the quarterback’s ability. . . to make plays both with his feet and through the air.”
It’s been a tough year for the Badgers as their season hasn’t gone exactly to plan. They sit at 5-4, currently in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Despite the adversity, Fickell remains adamant that his team hasn’t lost hope for the season and knows that a win over the Ducks could put some juice back into the program.
“You continue to remind them that this is what we signed up for. We recognize that this league, and college football in general, is evolving. This is what you play for. You have every opportunity to go out there and earn the respect that you want,” Fickell said.
The Badgers are going to have to play better defense than they did in their last outing, giving up 42 points to Iowa in a 42-10 loss on Nov. 2. Fickell, a defensive-minded coach, knows his unit needs to play better, but he has faith in his team to get the job done.
“We’ve got guys who we believe are really good football players. They’re gonna be put in some positions to be challenged. . . . I’ve got the utmost confidence they’ll step up to the challenge,” Fickell said.
Oregon is currently favorited by 13.5 points heading into Saturday’s showdown with the Badgers. The game will be broadcasted on NBC and kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.
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