An Oregon weekly newspaper suspended publication and fired all 10 employees three days before Christmas after employees were accused of siphoning tens of thousands of dollars from the struggling newspaper.
Eugene Weekly is owned by two women in their 90s. Website “Shortly before Christmas, we discovered that EW was the victim of embezzlement at the hands of someone we once trusted.”
The newspaper's editor, Camilla Mortensen, said: new york times It was revealed that unidentified workers were behind a multi-year scheme that left about $70,000 in bills unpaid and money not paid into employees' retirement accounts.
Mortensen and several other employees continue to volunteer to publish articles online for the free weekly magazine, the Times said. This weekly magazine was founded in 1982 and had a circulation of 30,000 copies.
But “for the first time in more than 20 years, EW will no longer be published in print,” the paper announced in a letter to readers.
“The printing company, one of our biggest creditors, has said it will reprint EW only if we pay it forward,” the newspaper added, adding that the company's finances are in “disarray”. , noted that the paper plans to host a rally. online fundraiser “This is to keep EW alive.”
As of Sunday, the fundraiser had raised more than $35,000, according to the Times.
Mortensen told the newspaper that the employee, who had worked for him for at least five years, was charged.
According to the newspaper, Eugene Police Department spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said police are investigating but could not provide further details because the investigation is ongoing.
The Times said the unidentified employee left the office last month when EW closed its financial records for the current year, suddenly bringing a number of problems to light.
“Every time I find something, it makes me sick to my stomach,” said Mortensen, who joined the newspaper in 2007 and became editor-in-chief in 2016. ”
The newspaper was already struggling financially due to the pandemic, and had reduced its page count and removed horoscopes from its pages as the situation got tougher.
Mortensen said EW was in good financial shape before the pandemic.
The paper's owners, Anita Johnson, a 94-year-old lifelong journalist, and Georgia Taylor, a former alumnus of Johnson's at the University of Oregon's Graduate School of Journalism, have never profited from it, EW told readers. This was made clear in a letter to.
They “pumped money into the paper to help cover costs during a funding shortfall,” the message added.
Mortensen told the Times that the pair always put profits back into the business to cover expenses such as employee bonuses and new equipment.
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Taylor also paid for the paper's final printed edition on December 21st.
Representatives for EW did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
