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Oregonian news negatives and photographs

 Collection
Identifier: Org. Lot 1445

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of photographs and photo assignments from the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon. Materials in the collection date from 1980 to 2013, with the majority produced between 1990 and 2010. However, because the Oregonian retained many images relating to significant news events, this collection is not a comprehensive archive of the newspaper's photographs from that time period. Photographs in the collection cover a variety of local and statewide topics, mostly consisting of community and neighborhood subjects and events; local politics and governmental races; fashion; art; and local sports. The collection also includes a small selection of Oregonian staff coverage of national news events, including cleanup efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Work by approximately 328 photographers is represented; among them are Robert Bach, Marv Bondarowicz, Patricia Cordell, Joel Davis, Claudia Howell, Roger Jensen, Michael Lloyd, Steven Nehl, Dana Olsen, Randy Rasmussen, Kraig Scattarella, and Brent Wojahn.

Images in the collection are in various formats, including negatives, prints, slides, compact discs, and Mini DV videocassettes. Most of the photographs are housed in the original photo-assignment folders used by the Oregonian. Many of these folders also contain photographers' notes, photo request information, and printing information.

Dates

  • Creation: 1980-2013
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1983-2010

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Historical Note

The Oregonian, founded in 1850 in Portland, Oregon, is the longest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast. The paper was established as the Weekly Oregonian by Thomas J. Dryer, who had been recruited by W. W. Chapman and Stephen Coffin, two Portland promoters eager for the city to have its own newspaper. In 1860, Dryer transferred ownership of the paper to Henry L. Pittock, who changed the name to the Morning Oregonian and launched six-day-a-week publication in 1861. The Oregonian published its first Sunday edition in 1881, and by the 1890s it was the state's largest newspaper by every measure.

In 1950, the Oregonian was purchased by S. I. Newhouse, founder of Advance Publications and the publisher of multiple East Coast newspapers. In 1959, workers at the Oregonian and at its rival Portland daily, the Oregon Journal, began a protracted strike that lasted four years; during the peak of the strike, the Oregonian's circulation dropped by 70,000 copies, from nearly 250,000. Newhouse purchased the rival Journal in 1961 as the strike continued, and when the Journal ceased publication in 1982, most of its editorial staff were absorbed into the Oregonian.

In the 1990s, Oregonian Editor Sandy Rowe and Executive Editor Peter Bhatia, who had both joined the paper in 1993, significantly reorganized the newsroom to increase the newspaper's focus on reader interests, create teams for specific topics, and improve coverage by helping reporters focus on their areas of greatest expertise. In 1999, the paper won a Pulitzer, its third, and it went on to win five others between 2000 and 2014. However, as advertising revenue began to fall throughout the news industry in the 2000s, the Oregonian suffered declines, and cut staff through multiple buyouts and layoffs. The newspaper shifted its focus to online news in 2013, and reduced home delivery of the print edition. In 2024, the Oregonian cut print publication to four days a week, ending more than 140 years of daily print editions.

Sources: "The Oregonian," by Harry H. Stein, Oregon Encyclopedia, https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregonian/; “Editors of the Year 2008: Sandy Rowe & Peter Bhatia,” by Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher (February 2008, pages 20-26, accessed September 2025), https://archive.org/details/sim_editor-publisher_2008-02_141_2; “The Oregonian will go to four-day home delivery,” by Brent Hunsberger, Oregonian/OregonLive (accessed August 2025), https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2013/06/the_oregonian_will_go_to_four-.html; "The Oregonian to cut print days to 4 a week," by Jeff Manning for The Oregonian/OregonLive (accessed September 2025), https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2023/08/the-oregonian-to-cut-print-days-to-4-a-week.html; "History of Oregon Newspapers," by George S. Turnbull (Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort, 1939); "The Portland Newspaper Wars of the 1960s," by Caleb Diehl, Portland Monthly, November 23, 2015 (accessed September 2025); https://www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-city-life/2015/11/the-portland-newspaper-wars-of-the-1960s

Extent

675.05 Cubic Feet (587 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Negatives, photographs, slides, and photography assignments that were produced or retained by staff of the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1980 to 2013. The collection also contains production prints, unpublished photographs, photographers' notes, and correspondence regarding photography assignments.

Arrangement

Materials in this collection are grouped in 25 series. The bulk of the collection is arranged chronologically, with each of the first 22 series consisting of photographs from a specific year, or range of years, from 1980 to 2013. Within each of these series, the materials are arranged in alphabetical order by photographer surname.

The remainder of the collection is grouped in three series. Series 23 consists of uncategorized photographs by the Oregonian, personal portraits submitted to the Oregonian, and copy prints of images from the Associated Press and other sources. Series 24 consists of Oregonian photographs of local, high school, and college sports and athletes. Series 25 is an archive of Oregonian images on compact discs.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Researcher access to negatives, which are intermixed with prints throughout the collection, and to compact discs may be limited for preservation purposes. Fees may apply.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Oregonian Publishing Company, care of Therese Bottomly, August 2014 (Lib. Acc. 28302).

Related Materials

Additional collections of Oregonian newspaper photography at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library include the Oregonian news production photographs, Org. Lot 1359, which consists primarily of production prints that date from the 1970s to the 1990s; and the Oregonian news negatives, Org. Lot 139, which consists of glass negatives that date from the 1890s to the 1920s.

Title
Guide to the Oregonian news negatives and photographs
Status
Completed
Author
Jax De La Cruz-Luera
Date
2025
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240