Medford Mail Tribune ceases operations. Will The Register-Guard be next?

By GEORGE CUSTER/Editor  —  A most recent development in the world of journalism has Southern Oregon reeling. The Medford Mail Tribune is shuttering its doors forever. What had been the daily dose of local news and information for, not only the City of Medford, but many surrounding cities, towns, and communities, will cease all operations tomorrow, Friday the 13th.

The Mail Tribune has been one of Oregon’s oldest newspapers, reaching back to the 1800’s. It published its first paper under the name Mail Tribune in 1907.

The U of O voices its concern over this travesty

Dr. Andrew DeVigal, who holds the endowed chair of the Agora Journalism Center at the School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) at the University of Oregon, reflected ” “The news should still be alarming, I would hope, because the effects of these nationwide closures of news outlets are felt particularly acutely in less populated, rural communities,” he said. “It often results in a rise in political corruption, in polarization, in disengagement and loss of community connection.”

The Agora Journalism Center was formed in 2014 with the foundational belief that the health of democracy and journalism are inextricably linked. Since then, the center has been a critical champion for the idea that professional journalism must become more participatory and collaborative with the public if journalism is to meaningfully improve communities’ information health and earn the public’s trust in local news media.

The “new” newspapers don’t want to hear from you

On that same subject, the Register-Guard has recently cut its reporting staff. The RG has ceased “opinion” and “letters to the editor” sections. With a reduced staff, the RG has retreated its coverage and virtually closed the castle gates to the outlying cities and communities.

We, in Oakridge and the rest of the communities that lie outside the metro city limits, are now left to fend off the enemies: misinformation, loss of identity, and being disenfranchised from our collective selves.

Where will YOU get your news?

Whatever dear cost you have been being held hostage to pay for your daily newspaper may be for not. It too will disappear soon. What then? Will you turn, instead, to getting your news from MSN? Google? Safari? You can bet there’ll be no mention of who’s playing music at the 3 Legged Crane this weekend. There will also be no notifying you that a local group is holding a cleanup of the trails near town that you had hoped to attend. Missed the recent City Council meeting where you had hoped to speak up on a subject? Too bad for you.

But you will get to see a video of a bulldog slowly chase a ball across a yard somewhere. Somewhere other than your home town.