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Medford Mail Tribune moves to online-only format

Andrys
/
Pixabay

The largest newspaper in the Rogue Valley announced this week it's discontinuing its print edition at the end of the month.

In a sudden announcement, the owner of the Medford Mail Tribune, Steven Saslow, said the paper is moving to an online-only format starting in October.

Saslow cited rising printing costs and the growing number of online readers as reasons for the move.

The trend of downsizing local news in southwest Oregon isn’t uncommon. On the Oregon coast, the Bandon Western World closed its doors in 2020. The Ashland Daily Tidings, founded in the late 1800s, was shut down in August, 2021, with local coverage rolled into the larger Medford Mail Tribune.

At the same time, the Mail Tribune went from a daily newspaper to printing four days per week.

In an interview with the paper, Saslow said he hopes to put the money saved on printing back into expanded local coverage.

He added about 15 people involved in printing the newspaper will be laid off, along with an additional 40 contracted delivery drivers.

Roman Battaglia is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. After graduating from Oregon State University, Roman came to JPR as part of the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism in 2019. He then joined Delaware Public Media as a Report For America fellow before returning to the JPR newsroom.