The Register-Guard

Infobox Newspaper
name = The Register-Guard


caption = The July 27, 2005 front page of
"The Register-Guard"
type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = 1867 (as "The Guard")
ceased publication =
price =
owners = Guard Publishing Co.
publisher = Alton F. "Tony" Baker III
editor = Alton F. "Tony" Baker III
language =
circulation =
headquarters = 3500 Chad Drive
Eugene, OR 97408
United States
ISSN =
website = [http://www.registerguard.com/ www.registerguard.com]

"The Register-Guard" is a daily newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the "Eugene Daily Guard" and the "Morning Register". The paper serves the Eugene-Springfield area, as well as the Oregon Coast, Umpqua River Valley, and surrounding areas. It has a circulation of 68,727 Monday through Friday, 74,507 on Saturday, and 72,415 on Sunday. [cite web | title = The Register-Guard | publisher = Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association | url = http://www.orenews.com/cgi-bin/internal/database/directory/showGMpage.cgi?MemberID=25 |accessdate=2008-03-16] The newspaper is owned by the Baker family of Eugene, and members of the family are in charge of nearly all departments within the paper.Davis, Joel. "Family affair." Editor & Publisher, 0013094X, 05/08/2000, Vol. 133, Issue 19.] It is Oregon's second-largest daily newspaper and one of the few medium-sized family newspapers left in the United States.cite news | last=Risser|first=James|title= State of The American Newspaper Endangered Species |work=American Journalism Review|date=June 1998|url= http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3276|accessdate=2008-03-15]

History of the "Guard"

In 1867, J. B. Alexander founded the Eugene "Guard" as a weekly Democratic newspaper.Turnbull, George Stanley. "History of Oregon Newspapers". Binfords & Mort: Portland, Or. (1939). pp. 274-282.] The following year, Alexander sold the paper to J. W. Skaggs who in turn sold it before the end of the year to the firm of Thompson & Victor. Thompson, who had previously been involved in the publication of the Eugene "Herald", a paper founded in 1859, sold the "Guard" after a year and a half.

George J. Buys and A. Eltzroth purchased the paper in December 1869, and six months later bought out Eltzroth. Buys sold the paper eight years later to John R. and Ira Campbell, who would remain owners for 30 years. In 1890, the Eugene "Guard" became a daily newspaper. Charles H. Fisher took over the paper in 1907 and published it until 1912 when E. J. Finneran purchased the paper. Finneran bankrupted the newspaper in 1916, partly due to the purchase of a perfecting press that proved too expensive for such a small newspaper. The University of Oregon's journalism school briefly ran the paper during the receivership under the guidance of Eric W. Allen.

In April 1916, Fisher returned along with partner J. E. Shelton, forming The Guard Printing Company. Fisher continued to publish the "Capital Journal" in Salem until 1921. In 1924, after Fisher died, Paul R. Kelty purchased the "Guard" and published it with his son, before selling it in 1927. The paper was purchased in 1927 by publisher Alton F. Baker, Sr., whose father had published the Cleveland "Plain Dealer". Three years later, Baker bought the "Morning Register" and merged the two papers. Reporter William Tugman was recruited from the "Plain Dealer" to be the managing editor of the new paper. [cite web | title = Alton F. Baker, Sr. Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame | publisher = Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association | url = http://www.orenews.com/About/halloffame/afbaker.html|accessdate=2008-03-15]

Post-merge history

In 1953, Tugman was one of four editors in the country to sign a declaration opposing Senator Joseph McCarthy's questioning of "New York Post" editor James Wechsler in closed Senate hearings.cite news |last=Pace |first=Eric |title=Eugene Pulliam Is Dead at 84; Publisher Opposed McCarthy |work=The New York Times |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D03E6DF1E30F931A15752C0A96F958260&st=cse&sq=eugene+%22register-guard%22&scp=2# |accessdate=2008-03-17] Eugene S. Pulliam of "The Indianapolis Star", J. R. Wiggins, "The Washington Post", and Herbert Brucker, of "The Hartford Courant" were the other editors to sign the declaration, calling Senator McCarthy's actions "a peril to American freedom."

Alton F. "Bunky" Baker, Jr., son of Alton F. Baker, Sr., inherited the newspaper in 1961 and later passed it on to his brother Edwin. In the late 1980s, it was handed down to the current editor and publisher, Alton F. "Tony" Baker III.

In August 1996, a photographer and reporter from the paper were arrested by the United States Forest Service for trespassing at the site of a timber protest in a national forest. [Roberts, Paul. The federal chain-saw massacre: Clinton's Forest Service and clear-cut corruption; Report; Cover Story. "Harper's Magazine", June 1997. No. 1765, Vol. 294; Pg. 37; ISSN: 0017-789X.] The "Register-Guard" responded by suing the Forest Service for violating the First Amendment freedom of the press. The criminal charged were later dropped and the civil suit was settled out of court.Stein, M. L.. D.A. Will Not Prosecute Two Reporters. "Editor & Publisher Magazine", April 26, 1997. News; Pg. 93.]

Originally located in downtown Eugene, the paper moved to its current location in northeast Eugene in January 1998. [http://rgweb.registerguard.com/rga/index.php/contacts/C15/ Contact us | The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA] . Retrieved on March 14, 2008.] The former Register-Guard building was leased by the University of Oregon and renamed the Baker Downtown Center for the Baker family.cite web |url=https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/552/1/NV_1999-01-22.pdf |title=Baker Center Welcomes New Tenants |date=January 22, 1999 |work=News & Views: Faculty and Staff Newsletter of the University of Oregon |publisher=University of Oregon |accessdate=2008-03-17] The building houses the university's printing facility, archives, and continuing education program, as well as the Oregon Career Information System.

In 2000, the company began negotiations with the employee’s union for a new contract, and during negotiations banned the use of the company email system by the union. [Rosenberg, Jim. E&P Technical: Arguing E-mail. "Editor & Publisher Magazine", August 1, 2007.] This led to an unfair labor practice charge against the newspaper, with the National Labor Relations Board ruling for the paper in December 2007 that employers can restrict company email use by unions. [Mendelsohn, Fred. E-mail in the workplace; A new National Labor Relations Board decision favors employers that ban pro-union e-mails by employees. "Industrial Distribution", March 1, 2008. DEPARTMENTS; Legal Watch; Pg. 34.] [ NLRB allows employers to restrict pro-union use of employer's e-mail system; The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that employers have the basic property right to regulate and restrict employee use of the company e-mail system. "South Central Construction", March 1, 2008. Construction Law; Pg. 31 Vol. 57 No. 3.]

In the weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the newspaper saw a 1.6% increase in paper sales. [Moses, Lucia. Reading a TREND: Circulation is up, amid war and terrorism, but will papers make the best of a bad situation? "Editor and Publisher Magazine", October 22, 2001.] In 2006, the paper received protests regarding its policy against including birth announcements from same-sex couples. [Steffen, Suzi. [http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/12/21/coverstory.html Maters or Paters Familias? Same-sex parents want their props from The Register-Guard.] "Eugene Weekly", December 21, 2006. Retrieved on April 19, 2008.]

Awards

The paper won in a tie for best feature photo in 1997 from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. [ The Associated Press. Oregonian wins 14 top honors. "The Oregonian", July 19, 1997.] In 1998, the paper took first place for science reporting from the Pacific Northwest Society of Professional Journalists competition for Excellence in Journalism. [Journalism awards. "The Oregonian", May 17, 1998.] "The Register-Guard" took first place in the same competition in 2001 for best arts coverage. [The Oregonian takes 13 firsts in contest. "The Oregonian", May 21, 2001.] In 1999, the newspaper was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Spot News Photography, for its coverage of the community's reaction to shootings at Springfield's Thurston High School by student Kip Kinkel." [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1999/spot-news-photography/ 1999 Pulitzer Prize Winners - Spot News Photography, Citation] ," Columbia University. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.]

ee also

*Alton Baker Park, named for founder Alton F. Baker, Sr. [cite web |url=http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=678&PageID=1567&cached=true&mode=2&userID=2 |title=Alton Baker Park |publisher=City of Eugene |accessdate=2008-03-17]

References

External links

* [http://www.registerguard.com "The Register-Guard" website]