Oregon Statesman

Statesman Journal

The July 27, 2005 front page of the Statesman Journal
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	Gannett Company
Publisher	Steve Silberman
Editor	Michael Davis
Founded	1851 (as the Oregon Statesman)
Headquarters	280 Church St. NE Salem, OR 97301  United States
Circulation	36,629 Mon-Fri 118,168 Sat 124,059 Sun
ISSN	0739-5507
Website	statesmanjournal.com

The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and much of the mid-Willamette Valley. The average daily circulation is 36,629 Monday-Friday, 118,168 Saturday, with Sunday readership of 124,059.

The Oregon Statesman was founded on March 28, 1851, by Asahel Bush, a Democrat, in response to the Whig-controlled Portland-based paper, The Oregonian. Congressional delegate Samuel Thurston assisted Bush in starting the newspaper while Thurston was in Washington, D.C. Printed using a hand press, the paper was originally based in Oregon City, but moved to Salem in June 1853 when the Oregon State Capitol was relocated to that city. The paper was used as a mouthpiece of the Democratic Party and of the Salem Clique that ran the party in Salem.

In March 1863, Bush sold the paper and entered the banking field. The name of the paper was changed to the Salem Statesman and became less of a partisan newspaper. In 1866, the Statesman ceased publication, only to resume in 1869 under the guidance of editor Samuel A. Clarke and under the new moniker of The Statesman and Unionist. The Unionist portion was removed from the name within a short amount of time, and in 1884 R. J. Hendricks became the paper's manager and editor, positions he held for 44 years. Also in 1884, ownership passed to Jasper Wilkins and Alonzo Gesner, with Gesner selling out his part within a year.

Will H. Parry established the Capital Journal on March 1, 1888, initially as a for-profit venture and an outlet for the Republican Party. Parry sold the Journal by the end of the year, one of many ownership changes in subsequent years.