Portland's Black Newspaper To End Print Edition, Shift To Digital Only

By Meerah Powell (OPB)
Jan. 18, 2020 12:15 a.m.

The Skanner, a Portland-based newspaper serving the African American community, announced Thursday that it would be retiring its print edition and shifting to online-only coverage.

The paper was first published in Portland in 1975. Its offshoot, The Seattle Skanner, began publishing in 1981.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:

"Newspapers have lost billions in advertising revenue to the new media giants, Google and Facebook. Thousands of journalists have been laid off and hundreds of papers have closed," explained a post on The Skanner's website. "The Skanner will not close, but we will adapt."

The paper will continue to print some special editions.

The Skanner organizes an annual celebration on Martin Luther King Jr., Day, the Skanner Foundation Scholarships Breakfast, that has given more than $450,000 in scholarships to 350 students since 1996 with the help of corporate and community partners, according to the paper.

The Skanner has also sponsored nonprofits such as The African American Alliance for Homeownership, an organization focused on increasing “homeownership and economic stability for African Americans and other underserved people.”

The paper said its founders, Bernie and Bobbie Foster, do not plan on retiring, and that its foundation and scholarship breakfast will also continue.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR:
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: