The News-Review to End Print Edition, Marking Major Change for Historic Douglas County Newspaper

ROSEBURG, Ore. — The News-Review will publish its final print edition on April 24, bringing an end to a newspaper tradition in Douglas County that traces its roots back to 1867. The move is part of a broader transition by parent company Lotus Media Group, which says it is shifting fully to digital publishing, mobile delivery, and expanded video production.

For many readers, the announcement marks the end of an era. The modern News-Review was created in 1920 through the merger of the Roseburg Review and the Umpqua Valley News, but its lineage reaches back to the Roseburg Ensign, first published in 1867. Over generations, the paper became one of Douglas County’s best-known local news institutions.

Lotus Media Group says the change is being driven by rising production costs, declining demand for print, and changing audience habits. Beginning May 1, the company says The News-Review will move fully to the NRToday website and mobile app, where local news will be free to access as the paywall comes down. Lotus says the new model will be supported by advertising, along with a premium subscription that offers added benefits including an ad-free experience, a daily e-edition, special publications, premium polls, and additional exclusive content.

The transition also comes with significant staffing changes. Lotus Media Group said 11 positions will be affected as operations move away from print production and toward digital and video content. The company said it plans to provide transition resources, placement assistance, and opportunities for affected workers to apply for new roles within the company, though it also said those new positions require different responsibilities and skill sets.

Lotus also says the shift will include a broader push into multimedia. The company plans to expand beyond traditional written coverage with video, entertainment productions, podcasts, livestreamed events, and features centered on local businesses, restaurants, and community events. As part of that push, Lotus says it has launched in8 Studios, an in-house production company operating from the former newspaper printing facility. The studio is already producing livestreamed events and podcasts and is expected to play a larger role in video news coverage.

In many ways, the final end of print has been building for some time. In July 2025, the News-Review reduced its print schedule from five days a week to one weekly Friday edition while continuing daily online publishing, a sign that the traditional newspaper model was already under strain. Lotus had described the paper just a few years earlier as a five-day-a-week community newspaper serving readers across Douglas County.

The paper and its parent company have also faced other challenges in recent years. In January 2024, a ransomware attack targeting Lotus Media Group disrupted operations and caused the News-Review to miss a print edition, underscoring the operational pressures facing legacy local media companies.

What makes this moment especially significant is that it is not simply the end of a printed newspaper. It is also a major restructuring of a longstanding local newsroom and a clear sign of how sharply the business of local journalism has changed. Across the country, legacy newspapers have struggled with shrinking print revenue, rising costs, and audience habits that increasingly favor fast, online access to news. In Douglas County, those same pressures are now closing the print chapter of one of the area’s oldest media institutions.

By the end of April, a newspaper lineage that began in the 19th century will no longer appear in print. What remains will be a different kind of local media operation, one focused less on the printed page and more on digital updates, mobile access, video, and subscription extras. Whether readers see that as adaptation, loss, or both, the transition marks one of the biggest changes to Douglas County journalism in years.

The official press release can be found here.