When a small group of Bendites joined together with EO Media in 2019 to rescue the Bend Bulletin from bankruptcy, we were motivated not only by a recognition of the key role the paper plays in our community, but also by a desire to see a more balanced, fair portrayal of our city.

Gerry O’Brien, in his more than four years at the editor of the Bulletin, has delivered both. His steady leadership focused the editorial team on the stories that matter most here — local news, local sports, the outdoors and the key issues driven by our growth.

At the same time, Gerry balanced the perspective of the newspaper in two ways. First, he wrenched opinion out of the news pages. Instead he presented the news as a true journalist should — with no bias toward a point of view, and no tolerance for fiction. Second, he took every opportunity to have the editorials describe both sides issue and ask readers to consider their views.

The result is a publication we can all be proud of. It reflects our community values. It helps bind our community, not divide it. It’s constructive, informative, and helpful. It celebrates our city’s successes, and covers our challenges and foibles in a balanced and constructive way.

Now a team of local editors will take over editorial responsibility while the search for a new editor goes on. Luckily, Gerry has also been a strong mentor to a talented staff. So we can surely count on Julie, Jody and Tim to follow his example and keep the paper on an even keel. As he said himself, “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.”

Bend owes a debt of gratitude to Gerry, and to Publisher Heidi Wright and the owners of EO media. They saved us from a fate that has sadly been true for dozens of publications in Oregon, and thousands more around the country. More than a third of Oregon’s newspapers have closed. As a result, more than two-thirds of cities and towns in our state have no local news source. At the national level, some of our country’s oldest and most iconic print publications have died.

But there’s a fate that’s in some ways worse than death — takeover. By 2019, when The Bulletin was rescued, almost a quarter of all newspapers in America had been acquired by private equity firms. To cut costs these “investors” slash out newsroom staffs, replacing local reporters with national wire service stories. Many have become what Politico called “zombie versions” of themselves, depriving communities of the local coverage they need. Happily, that hasn’t happened here.

As a professional communicator, I believe deeply in the critical role journalism plays in our democracy. Without local news, corruption, polarization and disinformation increase. Local news organizations ensure more community voices are heard, corruption decreases and people feel more connected to their communities. As a result, and perhaps most importantly, civic engagement increases.

The Bulletin has had only seven editors since its founding in 1903. Under Gerry’s leadership they have won the general excellence award from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association three years in a row. His shoes will be hard to fill. But I know we can count on Heidi and the leadership of EO media to find an excellent replacement, and I look forward to the continued contribution The Bulletin makes to all of us here in Central Oregon.