Ask the Editor: When did Sherwood’s newspaper change to The Sun?

SHERWOOD, Ore. — Hello readers,

A reader at the Marjorie Stewart Senior Community Center recently asked me about when our newspaper became The Sun.

The answer is, we are a new publication that I founded in October 2025 before selling to Active Media Publishing in January 2026 to fulfil the community’s need for an online and print publication covering local civics, education, community, business, and events.

In short, we are not the Sherwood Gazette, which sadly no longer exists as of August 2024.

The Sherwood Gazette was a part of Pamplin Media Group (PMG), once the largest media conglomerate in Oregon and most widely known for publishing the Portland Tribune (where I was formerly the editor for a stint). It was owned by Dr. Robert Pamplin, an Oregon businessman whose holdings also included a vineyard, farms, textiles, industrial, and manufacturing companies.

As you may well know, times are tough for the journalism industry. PMG made many innovative attempts to keep news in business, such as reducing and combining its numerous hyperlocal papers. The Sherwood Gazette became a part of the west side’s Valley Times, which also now includes what were formerly the Tigard Times, Tualatin Times, and Beaverton Times PMG papers.

This effort helped reduce printing and staffing costs, but ultimately, PMG — along with EO Media, owner of the Bend Bulletin and more — sold all of its newspapers in June 2024 to Carpenter Media Group, an Alabama-based conglomerate, who cancelled many of the print publications and laid off many of the Oregon staff over the next year.

This comes as federal funding was also cut for public media, including NPR, PBS, and OPB, in July 2025. Without local news, as The Washington Post’s slogan says, democracy dies in darkness.

The Sherwood Sun aims to reinvigorate the local media landscape by providing easily accessible information about what’s going on with the city council, school board, locally relevant legislation, new businesses, the community, and hyperlocal events, all in one place. I launched this publication intending to shine light on the stories that sparkle.

Every reader counts toward keeping local news alive and supporting an informed and connected community, so please read on! Every time you share a story with a friend, or subscribe to our free online weekly newsletter, you personally help keep trustworthy, local news alive right here at home in Sherwood.

Genuinely, thank you for being a reader.

— Jules Rogers, founder, editor, neighbor

Email your questions to editor@sherwoodsun.com