SALEM – East Oregonian Publishing Co. has agreed to purchase the twice-a-week Hermiston Herald from Western Communications Inc. of Bend. The companies expect to complete the sale by May 1.

East Oregonian Publishing Co., which has been under the same family ownership since 1908, operates seven newspapers and 13 websites in Oregon and Washington, including the the Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day. The company’s daily East Oregonian is based in Pendleton, 30 miles from Hermiston.

“The Herald has a long, celebrated history of serving Hermiston,” said Steve Forrester, president and chief executive officer of East Oregonian Publishing Co. “Our newspaper group is pleased and proud to bring it into our publishing family.”

“We approached the folks at the EOPC because they, like WesCom, are a family-owned media company with a rich tradition of quality and integrity,” said Betsy McCool, chairwoman of Western Communications Inc. “We’re confident the citizens of Umatilla County will benefit from this new ownership arrangement.”

The first issue of the Herald under new ownership will appear May 2.

John S. Perry, EOPC’s chief operating officer, said the East Oregonian will remain the daily newspaper for Pendleton, Hermiston and the surrounding communities in northeastern Oregon.

The Herald, Perry said, will continue to provide Hermiston with more distinctively local news, information and advertising.

“Together, these two newspapers will allow more advertisers to reach more households in these growing markets than any other media,” he said. “With one purchase, a customer can reach a seven-day audience of 125,000 using these publications and their websites.”

Perry said the Herald will be delivered by mail beginning in May and will publish on Wednesdays and Fridays. Independent contractors currently deliver the Herald on Tuesdays and Fridays.

“The change will provide more consistent delivery service for readers and advertisers,” Perry said. “It also will allow us to focus our efforts on improving news content and expanding the Herald website.”

The new owners pledged the Herald and East Oregonian will remain separate newspapers, each with an independent editorial voice.

The Hermiston Herald was founded in 1906 by Horace Greeley Newport and William Skinner. Western Communications purchased the paper in 1992.

In addition to the East Oregonian, the Hermiston Herald and the Blue Mountain Eagle, the Salem-based East Oregonian Publishing Co. owns and operates The Daily Astorian in Astoria, the Wallowa County Chieftain in Enterprise, the North Coast Citizen in Manzanita, the Chinook Observer in Long Beach, Wash., Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide, the Ad Visor, Ag Ads, Farmseller.com, Seaside-Sun.com and the Capital Press, a four-state agricultural weekly newspaper and website.