First of all, just to be clear, The Bulletin isn’t going away, at least not in the near future.

But it’s definitely been an interesting year and a rocky road that I’m sure has had more than a few people questioning the state of things. Here’s a quick recap:

• The Bulletin’s parent company, Western Communications, declared bankruptcy in 2011. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2012, but not without employee pay cuts and other losses or reductions.
• Western entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings at the beginning of this year, with millions of dollars in debts, as well as behind on federal and property taxes. (Source: The Bulletin, OPB here and here)
• In addition to The Bulletin, Western owned six other newspapers; its plan was to sell the newspapers and dissolve the company, though try to keep The Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman local. (The Bulletin, OPB)
• Ultimately all but The Bulletin and Redmond Spokesman were bought until the two papers went to auction and were picked up by EO Media, a publisher based in Oregon, with help from some local Bend investors.

Among the changes being implemented with EO Media taking over, there will be a new editor, with current editor Erik Lukens being let go and to be replaced with Gerard O’Brien (who’s coming from Klamath Falls), and a new publisher with EO Media’s COO Heidi Wright.

But the most interesting fact to me was buried a bit in the Lukens story:

EO Media Group also announced Wednesday it plans to move The Bulletin’s printing operation to Prineville.

Pamplin Media Group, which owns the Central Oregonian in Prineville, is replacing its old press and plans to have its new facility operating by Nov. 1. At that time, the Prineville facility would start printing The Bulletin and Redmond Spokesman, Wright said.

The Bulletin’s printing facility on Chandler Avenue in Bend is for sale and needs to be vacated, Wright said.

Pamplin Media Group intends to hire additional staff to help run the Prineville printing facility. How many will be hired and how many will come from The Bulletin’s printing facility have not yet been determined, Wright said.

This is because the big headquarters building over on Chandler Avenue is being vacated and sold. Since that building not only has the printing equipment but also houses the staff offices, I’m not sure if that means all the staff will have to work from home, or if they will have to commute to Prineville, or if the new owner will rent some cheaper office space in town somewhere.

And I do have to wonder also what happens to the printed newspapers in Prineville if (when) we get a bad winter and the roads are too icy to easily get from there to here.

(Obligatory disclosure: I freelance for The Bulletin, writing about beer, usually twice a month. I still am, so that’s good! But I have no real insight as to anything that’s been going on, aside from what I see/read as a consumer.)

It’s definitely a tough time for newspapers right now and it’s going to be very interesting to see how The Bulletin ultimately shakes out once the dust has settled. And it will be interesting to see the direction the paper takes under the new editor.