Salem Reporter is a digital news service based in Salem, Oregon. It was launched in September 2018 by longtime investigative journalist Les Zaitz, with investment from businessman Larry Tokarski, president of a real estate development firm.^[1][2][3] Its primary revenue source is from reader subscriptions, which cost $10/month.^[2] The site aims to distinguish itself from its competitors with the quality and credibility of its reporting.^[2] According to local news scholar Damian Radcliffe, the Reporter's freedom from the legacy costs that a traditional newspaper like the Statesman Journal has allowed it to enter the field with unusual agility.^[4]

Shortly after its launch, the Salem Reporter joined the Pamplin Media Group and the EO Media Group in a partnership named the Oregon Capital Bureau.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} The bureau was formed by the original partners 2014, to provide its constituent newspapers with reporting on state government;^[10] it produces a newsletter called the Oregon Capital Insider.^[11][12] Zaitz leads the bureau's team of three reporters.^[9]

Zaitz, a renowned investigative reporter for The Oregonian who, upon his retirement, bought and revitalized the Malheur Enterprise several years prior, saying he was motivated by a desire to create "a new financial paradigm for the newspaper that can be replicated and scaled up."^[1] In speeches in 2018, Zaitz emphasized restoring trust in media as a top priority for the journalism industry.^[13][14]