As a Sister Paper Ceases Print Publication, The Oregonian Announces Return to Broadsheet Style

In a week filled with bad news for daily newspapers, The Oregonian today spread a little sunshine.

The state’s largest newspaper announced it will change the format of its print publication next year from the current tabloid style (it folds vertically on the left margin, like WW) to the more traditional broadsheet style used by papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (they fold horizontally, in the middle).

It may seem like a minor change, of interest mostly to news industry insiders. But it’s significant for a number of reasons: First, The Oregonian’s sister paper, the Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, announced earlier this week it would cease print publication early next year, following the earlier example of the Alabama Media Group last year. (The Oregonian, along with the Alabama Media Group, the Star Ledger and Cleveland Plain Dealer, and a couple dozen smaller papers are owned by the Newhouse family’s Advance Publications.)

Locally, The Oregonian has been running a campaign that raised questions about the future of its print publication. “Switch to online delivery and save up to 20%,” said a full-page ad in the Oct. 27 print edition. “A familiar format with extras not available in the print edition.”

But today, John Maher, publisher of The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com, said that rather than moving away from print, the company is returning to the format it abandoned a decade ago amid a series of layoffs and the sale of its headquarters on Southwest Broadway.

“We’ve made a capital investment to make this possible with our current print production partner,” Maher said. “This change allows our teams to better align content with our new online newspaper platform, which will debut in mid-January.”

Maher explained that the ad campaign encouraging readers to switch to digital subscriptions is part of a larger plan.

“Over time, subscribers who choose to convert to a digital subscription find great value in our online newspaper and stay with us for a substantially longer term,” Maher said. “This conversion to broadsheet will facilitate a better overall product experience spanning print and digital consumption.”

The Oregonian’s return to broadsheet comes in the same week two larger dailies, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, are hemorrhaging subscribers because of their owners’ last-minute decisions to scrap planned endorsements of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 general election. The Oregonian endorsed Harris on Sept. 22, writing, “Trump, simply, should never be president again.”

Correction: this story originally said Advance Publications first stopped printing a New Orleans paper it used to own. In fact, it was Alabama Media Group that ceased print publication. WW regrets the error.