The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast,[5] founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850. It is the largest newspaper in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest by circulation and the 19th largest daily newspaper in the country.The Oregonian received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, the only gold medal annually awarded by the organization. Writers for the paper have received four other Pulitzer Prizes, most recently the Breaking News Reporting in 2007.