GROWTH of OREGON NEWSPAPERS
NOW a
few words about the growth of the newspaper business in Oregon since the beginning.
In 1850 Oregon was credited with four newspapers (1), all weeklies, having a total circulation of 58,968 copies (2).
By 1860 this number had greatly increased (3). Oregon had two dailies (this was before the Oregonian), 11 weeklies, and one religious weekly (4). The neighboring territory of Washington had no dailies as yet, and four weeklies. California had 22 dailies, 68 to bring the weeklies, and enough of other types of publications total to 112, or nearly half as many publications as Oregon has now. The United States as a whole had 372 dailies, 74 semi-weeklies, 84 tri-weeklies, 2694 weeklies, and enough other periodicals to bring the total to 3242 (listed as political) publications. Two other types of publications, religious and literary, many of which would today be classed as newspapers of general circulation, totalled 277 and 298 respectively. Oregon's newspapers circulated in 1860 a total of 800 copies daily, 14,820 weekly, 4,000 monthly, 8,000 annually, bringing the annual total to 1,074,640, or close to 20,000 a week. In the whole country periodicals were circulating 927,951,548 copies an nually, or nearly 1,000 times as many as the new state of Oregon. Oregon had 52,465 population in 1860, and the population of the country was 31,443,321, or 600 times as many as Oregon. Oregon in those days was far from the 1 per cent (of the nation) state that she later became.
By 1868 Oregon had 19 periodical publications, as against 14 in 1860 (5). Of these only three were dailies—the Oregonian and the Herald of Portland, and the Record of Salem. The rest were weeklies.
In 1878 (6) Oregon had 49 publications, of which 6 were dailies, 42 weeklies, and 1 monthly; Washington had 23, of which four were dailies, 17 weeklies, and two monthlies. California had a total of 237 publications, and the United States as a whole 8,133.
In 1880, federal census reports show, Oregon had 74 newspapers, of which 7 were dailies, 3 of these published in the morning; 59 weeklies, 6 monthlies, 1 semi-monthly, and 1 quarterly.
By 1890 the state had 142 periodical publications in 70 cities, — of which 16 were dailies, 1 semi-weekly, 27 of them county seats, 114 weeklies, 2 semi-weeklies, and 9 monthlies. (7).
The figures for 1901 (8) gave Oregon a total of 218 papers — of which 17 were dailies, 12 semi- weeklies, 162 weeklies, 1 fort nightly, 2 semi-monthly, 24 monthly. By this time Washington had passed Oregon in the number of publications—222, of which 19 were dailies and 176 weeklies.
