The Skanner closes after 50 years in Portland
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The Skanner News, one of Oregon's longest-running Black-owned newspapers, closed late last month after 50 years covering Portland's Black communities.
Why it matters: The Skanner was one of the few Black-owned news outlets in Oregon, making its reporting both rare and influential in a state where local media continues to shrink.
Context: The paper was founded in 1975 by husband-and-wife team Bernie and Bobbie Foster and ceased operations after readers and advertisers increasingly moved to social media.
- "This means our community will no longer be informed about news, from an African American perspective, that affects them individually and collectively," Bobbie Foster told KGW.
Catch up quick: The paper saw various iterations over the years — with a Seattle edition briefly appearing in the 1980s — and reached a peak circulation of roughly 75,000 in the 1990s.
- Portland remained the Skanner's primary focus as staff there covered local issues, endorsed ballot measures and sponsored community events.
- In the late 80s, Bernie Foster became a crucial voice in the effort to rename then-Union Avenue as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, penning editorials and inserting petitions into the paper itself, per Willamette Week.
- It was also one of the first news outlets in the state to have its own website.
Between the lines: The Skanner's closure comes as local newsrooms shrink or disappear across the state.
- It highlights a persistent and growing challenge: sustaining community-centered journalism in an era dominated by social media, an increase in questionable AI news sources and declining advertising revenue.
The bottom line: For Bernie Foster, the Skanner's run was a long and fruitful one, something he hopes to see repeated.
- "Each generation should leave the world a little better than it was when they found it," he told Willamette Week. "We know Portland is better than it was 50 years ago. And we hope that the next generation will make it better than it is now."