‘Failing the community’: Bend’s 120-year-old Bulletin newspaper seeing second round of layoffs in six months

(Update: Adding comments from union and supporters)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Two months into new ownership, The Bulletin faces another round of layoffs. Two months ago, Carpenter Media acquired several rural newspapers in Oregon and Washington, including The Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman.

Previously owned by EO Media, the company faced 15% staff cuts and saw one Bulletin employee voluntarily leave.

"I can say that when Carpenter purchased us, the feeling was mostly unease or worry. Now, it's anger," said Central Oregon NewsGuild president and Bulletin general assignment reporter Morgan Owen said Wednesday.

In October, Carpenter Media acquired several rural newspapers in Oregon and Washington, including the Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman. Union members were still negotiating their contracts when it took control, but Owen says this month, things took a turn for the worse.

"It was completely out of left field when we got that email on Tuesday, essentially with their ultimatum of, 'You get one bargaining session and we're going to lay people off' - which ultimately we called their bluff and they didn't do," Owen said.

Shortly after our interview, a representative with Carpenter Media alleged the information the guild had provided may be inaccurate. We reached out to Carpenter Publisher John Carr for an interview but did not hear back.

Long-standing Bulletin copy editor Tim Doran was laid off earlier this month. Owen says two photographers and a news clerk may also be laid off, if negotiations fail. 

"There's been very minimal communication," she said. "Carpenter made the guild do their dirty work, and we had to call everybody who they had targeted for layoffs and let them know that this was happening."

Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler showed her support for the Bulletin on her social media.

"It's really important for people to get information from our local journalists about their local governments," she old us Wednesday. "That's consistently a way that we hear from people that they get information about what we're doing and the decisions we're making as a council."

She is calling for the community to show support for local journalism. 

"Making sure that our journalists are paid enough to be able to keep doing the work, making sure our newspapers and our TV stations are healthy and continue is important to a lot of the stuff we're trying to achieve in our community," Kebler added.

Owens says the community deserves better: "I feel like I am failing the community and not giving them the quality and the reporting that we were able to do before."

It's a tough time for newspapers everywhere, especially in rural communities. A study by Northwestern University finds that on average, 2.5 local newspapers are closing each week, leaving more than 200 counties, or about half of the U.S., without a local source of news. Pew research shows only about 37% of Americans prefer to get their news through print.

Owen says the guild is now looking at filing an unfair labor practice against Carpenter Media Group, claiming illegal negotiation practices, like surface bargaining.