Portland's Pioneering Black-Owned Newspaper The Skanner Closes After 50 Years

The Skanner, a trailblazing Black-owned newspaper in Portland, has shuttered operations due to changing media landscape and loss of revenue.

Feb. 4, 2026 at 6:55pm

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The Skanner, Portland's dominant Black-owned newspaper, has closed its doors after 50 years of operation. Founded in 1975 by Bernie and Bobbie Dore Foster, the newspaper served as a reliable voice for the city's Black community, covering their issues, stories, and accomplishments. However, the Fosters cited 'changing technology' and the loss of advertising revenue as the primary reasons for the closure, as readers increasingly turned to social media for news.

Why it matters

The Skanner's closure marks the end of an era for Portland's Black community, as the newspaper played a crucial role in amplifying their voices and advocating for their interests over the past five decades. Its advocacy led to significant achievements, such as the renaming of Union Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the posthumous awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor to a World War I hero, Henry Lincoln Johnson.

The details

The Skanner, which had a second operation in Seattle, was the largest Black newspaper in the Pacific Northwest. The Fosters, now in their 80s, started the paper in a small office on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, hiring one person for advertising, one copy editor, one reporter, and Bernie's brother for layout and distribution. Over the years, the newspaper successfully transitioned to a fully remote newsroom in 2023, but the shift to digital and the loss of advertising revenue ultimately led to its closure on January 30, 2026.

  • The Skanner was founded in 1975 by Bernie and Bobbie Dore Foster.
  • The newspaper stopped printing in 2020 and moved to a fully remote newsroom in 2023.
  • The Skanner closed its doors on January 30, 2026.

The players

Bernie Foster

The co-founder of The Skanner, who had experience working for The Facts newspaper in Seattle and focused on the business side of the operation.

Bobbie Dore Foster

The co-founder of The Skanner, who worked with writers and helped establish the newspaper's mission of telling the stories of the Black community in Portland.

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What they’re saying

“We have been a reliable voice our readers could trust, covering their issues, their stories, their accomplishments. I hope we have made a difference as we honored our mission of Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now.”

— Bobbie Dore Foster, Co-founder of The Skanner

“Our legacy is inspiring people to take pride in Black business ownership, to read our newspaper and not depend exclusively on social media, covering news that gave our readers the perspective of our community.”

— Bobbie Dore Foster, Co-founder of The Skanner

The takeaway

The closure of The Skanner, a trailblazing Black-owned newspaper in Portland, marks the end of an era for the city's Black community. The newspaper's five-decade-long legacy of amplifying voices, advocating for change, and inspiring pride in Black business ownership will be sorely missed, as the media landscape continues to evolve and traditional print outlets struggle to adapt.