Chinook Observer

The Chinook Observer is a weekly newspaper serving the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington state. As of about 2013 the paper claimed a circulation of 6,700, making it one of Washington's larger weekly newspapers.^[2] The original Linotype machine, a Mergenthaler, was taken out of service in the 1970s and is on loan to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco.^[3]

Chinook Observer

Type	Weekly newspaper
Owner(s)	EO Media Group
Founder(s)	George Hibbert Frank Gaither
Publisher	Matt Winters
Founded	1900
Headquarters	205 Bolstad Avenue E. Suite 2 Long Beach, WA 98631
Circulation	3,810 Print 852 Digital (as of 2023)[1]
ISSN	0739-9200
Website	chinookobserver.com

History

In 1900, George Hibbert and Frank Gaither published the first edition of The Observer in Chinook, Washington.^[4] The press came from the defunct Tribune in La Conner.^[4] Early on Gaither left and was replaced by Charles A. Payne, who worked with Hibbert for nearly a dozen years. In 1912, Payne bought out Hibbert due to a disagreement.^[5]

Elton C. Durkee published the paper for about seven years until his sudden death in 1927.^[6][7] His son and daughter-in-law John and Margaret Durkee then took over the paper. In 1937, the couple sold it to John M. Stone^[8] That same year James M. O'Neil became the owner. At that time circulation was 325.^[9] In 1938, he relocated the Observer to Long Beach as the population of Chinook had drastically dropped in recent years since trap fishing was outlawed.^[10]

Chinook Observer staff, July 4, 1903, taken at the newspaper's first office

In 1964, O'Neil turned the paper over to his son Wayne O'Neil.^[9] Circulation then was around 2,000.^[9] He and his wife operated the Observer for the next 20 years.^[2] In 1984, the paper was purchased by Craig and Geri Dennis,^[11] who sold it in 1988 to the East Oregonian Publishing Company,^[12] which later was renamed to EO Media Group. After the sale, printing was moved to The Daily Astorian.^[13][14] Matt Winters became the paper's editor in 1991.^[15]

Chinook Observer office, 1905

In April 2024, the newspaper's office was sold. All staff have since worked remotely from their homes.^[16] In October 2024, EO Media Group was sold to Carpenter Media Group.^[17]