April 24, 2026 3:50 a.m. (story credit: Drew Winkelmaier)
The final print edition of The News Review is out on Friday, as the product becomes fully digital at www.nrtoday.com
The roots of The News Review stretch back to the post-Civil War American West. The paper’s earliest predecessor, the Roseburg Ensign, was founded by Thomas and Henry R. Gale, two brothers from Eugene, on April 30th, 1867. One of the oldest surviving businesses in the state of Oregon, the paper has witnessed the full arc of southern Oregon’s transformation from frontier territory to modern community.
The Ensign was sold to R. Tyson and renamed The Pantagraph in 1872. In April 1875, the paper was renamed the Douglas Independent under the ownership of John W. Kelley. In 1885, the paper was sold again to the Reverend John Richard Newton Bell, who renamed it the Roseburg Review and converted it from a weekly to a daily newspaper on May 9th, 1888.
Another Roseburg paper, The Plaindealer, became the Umpqua Valley News in 1905.
In 1920, The Umpqua Valley News and the Roseburg Review were combined to form The News Review, ending half a century of rivalry between the publications.
Frank Jenkins bought the merged newspapers in 1930 and held The News Review along with a Klamath Falls paper until 1960, when he sold to Scripps League. Phil Swift of Swift Communications acquired The News Review after the Scripps League broke up in 1975. At that time the paper added a Sunday edition, bringing publication to six days a week.
In September 2015, the paper was purchased from Swift by Patrick Markham and his company, Lotus Media Group. Markham is the president of Brooke Communications, owner of 6 Roseburg radio stations. This brought the paper back into local hands for the first time in decades.
In October 2024, the paper switched from carrier to postal delivery. Reflecting broader national trends in print media, in July 2025, The News Review decreased its print schedule from five days to one day a week.
Now The News Review will continue its long legacy in a digital format as it covers the news in Douglas County, available 24/7 at www.nrtoday.com