Editor Gerry O’Brien will be leaving after nearly five years at the helm of The Bulletin, Central Oregon’s daily newspaper.

O’Brien, 68, was named director of communications and marketing for Klamath Community College in Klamath Falls, where he lived prior to joining The Bulletin. His last day at The Bulletin is March 27.

“My time at The Bulletin has been the most rewarding of my 35-plus years in journalism, thanks to the excellent staff of reporters and editors,” O’Brien said.

“Central Oregon is blessed with a dedicated crew that has shed light on a whole host of difficult topics, and pushed those who are in positions of power to help resolve those issues.”

The Bulletin will conduct a search for a new editor. In the interim, City Editor Julie Johnson, Projects Editor Jody Lawrence-Turner and Redmond Spokesman Editor Tim Trainor will split the duties of the news operation.

O’Brien was the seventh editor of The Bulletin since the paper was founded in 1903.

He was selected by Publisher Heidi Wright because the two had worked together on and off for 25 years, starting out at the Montana Standard in Butte, Montana, Wright said in an email.

“When EO Media acquired The Bulletin out of bankruptcy in September 2019, my first call was to Gerry, in hopes he would take the helm in The Bulletin newsroom,” Wright said. “I’m so thankful for Gerry’s contributions to The Bulletin these past 4½ years and for his friendship over the years.”

During his tenure, O’Brien said he felt The Bulletin’s staff truly shined in its coverage of the shooting at the Safeway store on Aug. 28, 2022. Between the day of coverage and in-depth follow up coverage, the staff reported on the events and gave detailed accounts from the survivors. Other coverage O’Brien said he was proud of includes a year-long series on homelessness and coverage of housing, two growing issues facing Central Oregon.

Safeway shooting

Read The Bulletin’s coverage of the gun violence incident that shook the community

“The untold strength of this paper is the day-in and day-out reporting it does to keep this community in touch with how it is rapidly changing, the good and the bad,” O’Brien said.

Also during his time as editor, The Bulletin won the general excellence award from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association three years in a row, O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s departure coincides with changes among the leadership of EO Media Group, parent company of The Bulletin. Wright has been named CEO, reporting to Steve Forrester, president of EO Media Group. Wright will remain publisher of The Bulletin as well. Joe Beach, editor and publisher of the Capital Press, will assume the chief operating officer role, previously held by Wright.

EO Media Group, a family-owned company based in Salem, bid $3.65 million in a bankruptcy auction in 2019 to acquire The Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman from prior owner Western Communications.