The newspaper boss is known for adjusting state’s largest daily during recession.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The newspaper boss known for adjusting state’s largest daily during the recession is heading down the Willamette Valley to Eugene.
N. Christian Anderson, chairman of the Oregonian, will step down from his post in Portland and become the editor and publisher of the Register-Guard.
From OregonLive.com:
“We appreciate everything Chris accomplished during his time in Portland,” said Randy Siegel, president of Advance Local, which owns Oregonian Media Group. “We wish him well in his new endeavor.”
The announcement of Anderson’s departure comes almost exactly one month after Steve Moss joined Oregonian Media Group as its new president. There are no plans to fill the chairman position being vacated by Anderson.
In Eugene, Tony Baker will step back from overseeing day-to-day operations.
The Register-Guard wrote:
The family intends to keep the newspaper in family ownership for the long term, Baker said. The family is bringing in an accomplished professional with business and marketing skills, extensive financial experience and strong news experience to lead the company’s expansion into digital media while continuing to serve the many readers and advertisers who value the print format, Baker said.
“Chris has the entrepreneurial instincts, business savvy, news background and digital know-how that make him uniquely qualified,” Baker said.
Portland Business Journal provides some context:
This is the first time in the Register-Guard’s 88 years that it has hired a non-family member to helm the company.
Anderson earned notice in Portland when the paper dramatically cut positions and reduced home delivery to four times a week in 2013. He told the Business Journal that the paper was profitable at the time. The paper did continue to win several awards, including a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing.
