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Keizertimes

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Keizertimes
You think you know. To be sure, read Keizertimes
TypeWeekly newspaper
OwnerWheatland Publishing Corp.
FounderJohn Ettinger
PublisherLyndon Zaitz
EditorEric A. Howald
Founded1979
Ceased publication
2026
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303
Circulation1,738[1]
ISSN2997-2604
OCLC number28445028
Websitekeizertimes.com

The Keizertimes was a weekly community newspaper based in Keizer, Oregon, United States, published every Friday, and has a distribution through both the mail and newsstands.[2] It was founded in 1979 and ceased in 2026 after mering into the Salem Reporter.

History

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Keizer News

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The earliest predecessor to the Keizertimes is the Keizer News, founded in August 1950 by members of the Keizer Commercial Club.[3] The News was briefly suspended for about two weeks in July 1952 until Lynn E. Martin, formerly a foreman at the Independence Enterprise, agreed to purchase and relaunch it.[4][5][6]

Martin published the paper for 11 years until selling it in June 1963 to Clarence Zaitz, who for the past three months was city editor at the Capital Journal.[7][8] The new owner soon purchased $6,000 worth of equipment in order to have the paper printed by an offset press run by the Tualatin-Yamhill Press in Hillsboro.[9]

In February 1965, Clarence Zaitz announced plans to launch a second weekly in town called the South Salemite,[10][11] and despite reaching a circulation of 2,500, it folded after a year.[12]

In May 1968, the News ceased after 19 years of operation due to it being unprofitable.[13][14] Clarence Zaitz was unable to find a buyer, and while his son Leslie Zaitz considered taking it over, he opted to work as a reporter for The Oregonian instead.[15][16] Clarence Zaitz was later hired as Salem bureau manager for the United Press International,[17] and after five years got a job at United California Bank.[18]

Revival attempts

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In January 1970, Jim Anderson launched a new paper called The Keizer News. After Clarence Zaitz objected to the name, that March, it was renamed to The Keizer Times & Ad-Visor.[19] The paper soon ceased. In November 1971, Ed O'Neill launched the Keizer Tribune,[20] but this also ceased in March 1972.[21]

Keizertimes

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John Ettinger moved to Keizer in the late 1970s and was encouraged by local merchants to launch his own newspaper.[15] On Oct. 3, 1979, Ettinger published the first bi-weekly edition of The Keizer Times.[22][23][24] Initially Bob Brazeau was editor, but he soon left Ettinger as the paper's only employee. Ettinger had no prior journalism experience, and moved from California to the area about 2 and half years to work as director of the Oregon branch of the Association of Retarded Citizens. He started the paper because "It just seemed like a good idea."[25] Start up costs for the Times were $2,000, and each issue cost $1,000 to produce. The paper was printed by the Silverton Appeal Tribune, with 7,000 copies mailed to local homes and another 1,000 distributed at area grocery stores. Ettinger estimated about 70% of recipients never read the paper, with its most popular feature being a historical column.[25]

The paper was soon renamed to the Keizertimes. In 1981, the paper grossed $50,000 on advertisement sales with a net profit of $15,000. Ettinger said profits were meager, but were enough to support himself and his wife Connie, who worked as circulation director and bookkeeper. Soon the paper was delivered 9,500 homes, almost every one in Keizer, "except the ones with big dogs," Ettinger said. Encouraged by the results of an informal telephone survey of 200 households, in April 1982, the paper switched from a free twice monthly model to a weekly paid-subscription model. Charging $9.50 annually, or 18 cents weekly, was estimated to bring in $60,000 in subscription fees alone.[15]

In August 1987, after eight years of ownership, Ettinger sold the Keizertimes to Leslie L. "Les" Zaitz and Scotta Callister.[16][26] The couple launched the South Salem Times a year later, but it folded in 1990. They also launched the Salem Times, a free newspaper mailed to 40,000 homes, in 1994.[27] It ceased after two years.[28] In 2004, the Keizertimes' office caught fire and sustained major damage. Arson was suspected.[29] In September 2018, Les Zaitz launched the Salem Reporter, a digital news service based in Salem. It was funded by businessman Larry Tokarski, president of a real estate development firm.[30][31][32] In August 2026, the Keizertimes was merged into the Reporter. Its print edition ceased, its office closed and its website would no longer be updated. The paper's sole reporter would continue writing about Keizer for the Reporter.[33]

Awards

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In 1988, the Keizertimes won a first place award for best news story from a small weekly newspaper from the National Newspaper Association. The story was on the death of an elderly pedestrian.[34] In 2000, the paper's publisher Les Zaitz was given the First Citizen Award by the Keizer Chamber of Commerce.[35] In 2024, Les Zaitz was inducted into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame.[36]

References

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  1. ↑ "Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association". www.orenews.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  2. ↑ "About this newspaper". Keizertimes. Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Local Paragraphs | News Files Names". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. August 14, 1950. p. 5.
  4. ↑ "Keizer News". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. July 26, 1952. p. 5.
  5. ↑ "Keizer News Will Resume Publication". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. July 28, 1952. p. 9.
  6. ↑ "Keizer News Will Resume Publication". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. July 31, 1952. p. 13.
  7. ↑ "Capital Journal City Editor Post Changes Hands Aug. 2". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. June 20, 1963. p. 5.
  8. ↑ "Keizer News Sale Reported". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. June 21, 1963. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "Keizer News Printed by Offset Press". The Oregon Statesman. November 1, 1963. p. 28.
  10. ↑ "New Weekly Planned". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. February 11, 1965. p. 15.
  11. ↑ "Publisher Plans Second Weekly". The Register-Guard. United Press International. February 12, 1965. p. 6.
  12. ↑ "South Salemite Newspaper Quits". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. April 29, 1966. p. 5.
  13. ↑ "Keizer News Is Finished". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. May 31, 1968. p. 5.
  14. ↑ "Keizer News Bows Out". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. May 31, 1968. p. 2.
  15. 1 2 3 Rosenberg, Martin (May 16, 1982). "Keizertimes going weekly, to charge for subscriptions". Statesman Journal. p. 117.
  16. 1 2 "Reporter, editor buy Keizertimes". Statesman Journal. August 28, 1987. p. 41.
  17. ↑ "UPI names Zaitz to post". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. United Press International. March 26, 1970. p. 40.
  18. ↑ "Newsman takes job with bank". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. January 3, 1973. p. 37.
  19. ↑ "Keizer Area Weekly Newspaper". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. March 12, 1970. p. 15.
  20. ↑ "Tribune begins publication". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. November 3, 1971. p. 14.
  21. ↑ "Keizer Interest". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. May 23, 1972. p. 4.
  22. ↑ "Keizer paper". The Capital Journal. Salem, Oregon. September 26, 1979. p. 24.
  23. ↑ "Keizer newspaper started". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. October 4, 1979. p. 2.
  24. ↑ Howald, Eric A. (September 27, 2019). "Keizertimes marks 40th anniversary". Keizertimes. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Cowan, Ron (March 30, 1980). "Keizer newspaper is one-man show". The Oregon Statesman. Salem, Oregon. p. 58.
  26. ↑ "2 journalists buy Keizer weekly". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. September 21, 1987. p. 42.
  27. ↑ Martinis, Cheryl (April 15, 199). "New weekly newspaper to take flight in Salem". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 6.
  28. ↑ "Salem Times closes; publishers cite revenue". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. January 13, 1996. p. 18.
  29. ↑ Lawrence-Turner, Jody (June 19, 2004). "Police suspect arson in blaze that damages newspaper office". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. p. 18.
  30. ↑ Baker, Linda (August 1, 2018). "Veteran newspaper editor, Salem business leader team up on new media outlet". Oregon Business. doi:10.1057/9780230355224.0018.
  31. ↑ Hare, Kristen (August 1, 2018). "Salem, Oregon is getting a new online news site. 'I'm pretending there's no other media there.'". Poynter. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  32. ↑ "The man whose money talks in Salem". Salem Weekly. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Keizertimes merging with Salem Reporter". Keizertimes. August 28, 2026. Retrieved August 28, 2026.
  34. ↑ "Keizertimes wins award for the best news story". Statesman Journal. November 16, 1988. p. 39.
  35. ↑ Potter, Angela (January 16, 2000). "Publisher top citizen for Keizer". Statesman Journal. p. 21.
  36. ↑ "Salem Reporter editor inducted into Hall of Fame for service to newspapers, community". Salem Reporter. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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