Salem, Oregon Salem, Oregon Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood of West Salem is in Polk County. Salem was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, and was incorporated in 1857. Salem had a population of 154,637 at the 2010 census, making it the third largest city in the state after Portland
Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon Capital Bureau The Oregon Capital Bureau is a joint effort of several family-owned news publishers to improve news coverage of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The bureau was launched in 2014 by the Pamplin Media Group, which owns 25 newspapers in the Portland Metropolitan Area and Central Oregon, and the EO Media Group, which owns 11 newspapers in Eastern Oregon and on the Oregon Coast. In 2015 the bureau launched the newsletter "Oregon Capital Insider". One of the leading advocates of establishing the bureau was Steve Forrester, president of the EO Media Group, and then publisher