EO Media Group has expanded its reach on the Oregon coast with the acquisition of the Seaside Signal, Cannon Beach Gazette and Coast River Business Journal.

EOMG LogoThe parent company of The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer purchased the three newspapers from Country Media, Inc. The transaction was effective February 28. Terms were not disclosed.

In October, EO Media Group acquired Oregon Coast Today, a weekly publication serving Lincoln and Tillamook counties. The purchase of the Signal, Gazette and Business Journal bring to six the number of newspapers the company publishes on the coast.

“We are delighted to add these publications to our family-owned company,” said Steve Forrester, president and CEO of EO Media Group and the publisher of The Daily Astorian. “Readers of these newspapers will get news and information that is highly focused on their communities. The Astorian, meanwhile, will continue to provide independent, daily coverage of the major news and topics affecting the people of Clatsop and Pacific counties.”

John S. Perry, chief operating officer of EO Media Group, said: “These acquisitions strengthen our ability to reach additional, targeted audiences in this vibrant corner of the coast.”

The Signal, which was founded in1905 and serves Seaside and Gearhart, publishes each Thursday. The Gazette, founded in 1998, is published every other week on Thursdays and serves the communities of Cannon Beach, Tolovana and Arch Cape. Coast River Business Journal is published monthly. It was founded in 2006 by Susan Trabucco of Astoria.

Country Media Inc. will continue to publish its four other Oregon newspapers in Lincoln City, Tillamook, Manzanita and St. Helens. The company also owns eight weekly newspapers in eastern Montana and North and South Dakota. Principal owners are Steve and Carol Hungerford.

With the acquisition of the Seaside Signal, Cannon Beach Gazette and Coast River Business Journal, EO Media Group now owns and operates 11 newspapers in Oregon and Washington. They include: The Daily Astorian, Oregon Coast Today, the Chinook Observer in Long Beach, WA, the Capital Press in Salem, the East Oregonian in Pendleton; the Wallowa County Chieftain in Enterprise; the Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day; and the Hermiston Herald.

The company also produces the following specialty publications: Our Coast, Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide, Eastern Oregon Marketplace, Coast Marketplace and Ag Ads.

In addition to web sites for its newspapers, EO Media Group offers: DiscoverOurCoast.com; CoastWeekend.com; OnlyAg.com; Farmseller.com; Seaside-Sun.com; NorthwestOpinions.com. The company also has published several books, including historic looks at the Pendleton Round-Up, early Astoria and the BumbleBee Seafood Co.

EO Media Group, which is headquartered in Salem, has been under the same family ownership since 1908. Principal owners Kathryn Brown of Pendleton, Steve Forrester of Astoria and Mike Forrester of Salem. The company’s web site is www.EOMediaGroup.org.

EO Media Group Timeline

1908 – E.B. Aldrich becomes editor and a stockholder of East Oregonian

Publishing Co.

1919 – Astoria Evening Budget newspaper sold to group led by E.B. Aldrich.

1951 – J.W. “Bud” Forrester becomes editor of the East Oregonian and, with wife

Eleanor Aldrich Forrester and her sister Amy Aldrich Bedford, become principal owners of the company.

1960 – Newspaper changes name to The Daily Astorian.

1979 – Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day, OR, acquired.

1988 – Chinook Observer in Long Beach, WA, acquired.

1991 – Capital Press in Salem, OR., acquired.

2000 – Wallowa County Chieftain in Enterprise, OR., acquired.

2003 – Steve Forrester named company president following retirement of his brother

Mike Forrester.

2007 – North Coast Citizen in Manzanita, OR, acquired.

2008 – Hermiston (OR) Herald acquired.

2010 – New press installed at Daily Astorian.

2011 – North Coast Citizen sold to Country Media Inc.

2012 – Oregon Coast Today in Lincoln City, OR, acquired.

Our Coast annual magazine first published.

2013 – Company changes name to EO Media Group.

Cannon Beach Gazette, Seaside Signal and Coast River Business Journal acquired from Country Media Inc.