CORVALLIS, Ore. - Two long-time journalists give a detailed account of the rich history of newspapers in the Northwest in a new book just published by Ridenbaugh Press.

"New Editions: The Northwest's Newspapers as They Were, Are, and Will Be" by Steve Bagwell, managing editor of the McMinnville-based News-Register, and Randy Stapilus, former Idaho reporter, examines the newspaper business in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Bagwell has taught media classes at Oregon State University since 1998.

Print newspapers nationally face an uncertain future as readers increasingly turn to the Internet for their daily news fix. Major changes are in the pipeline at most of the major dailies.

The book by Bagwell and Stapilus reviews every newspaper produced in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington - and there are a lot more than most people might think - covering the papers' predecessors and evolution into their current form.

"New Editions" traces individual papers' transformation from locally, often family-owned publications to the ownership consolidation of larger groups, and the reasoning behind publishers' and editors' decisions on whether to produce online editions. Many of the region's editors and publishers offer their own comments and observations on the present and future of Northwest newspapers.

"New Editions: The Northwest's Newspapers as They Were, Are and Will Be," is available at bookstores and online at http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/ridenbaugh-book-store/new-editions

Source: 

Steve Bagwell, 503-437-5980

Click photos to see a full-size version. Right click and save image to download.